James Yokeley, a county-level North Carolina elections leader who was charged with putting hard drugs in his granddaughters' ice cream, has resigned from his seat on the Surry County Board of Elections, state officials said Thursday.

Yokeley was arrested on Tuesday after investigators discovered video footage that indicated he was responsible for placing pills in the ice cream earlier this month, court records show. The pills tested positive for MDMA and cocaine, according to an arrest warrant. He now faces felony charges for drug possession, child abuse and food contamination, the document shows. His granddaughters are 16 and 15, according to the warrant.

Yokeley — who says the accusations are false — was appointed chairman of the Surry County Board of Elections by Republican State Audi

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