Questions arise after newly elected soil and water supervisor’s name is found on sex offender list

The State Board of Elections Investigations Division has opened an investigation into Forsyth County’s newly elected Soil and Water District Supervisor Edward Jones. According to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations Sex Offender Registry, Jones was convicted of sexually assaulting a 15 year old in 2001. At the time Jones was 31. In North Carolina, to run for office, convicted felons must complete and submit a Felony Disclosure Form at the time of filing.  The Forsyth County Board of Elections don’t have any record of a Felony Disclosure Form for Jones. Concerns have also been raised about Jones’ address, which seems to be in Davie County.   In the 2024 Primary Election, Jones  defeated Lei Zhang with 63% of the total vote, about 94,217 votes compared to 53,149 for Zhang.  A Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor is one member of a board of five supervisors that works to improve the soil and water quality in the county. The board supervisor provides technical and financial assistance to help land users maintain their land and surrounding ecosystems.  Zhang is a physics professor at Winston-Salem State University. He holds a Phd in Applied Physics from University at Texas at Arlington, a masters...