Mecklenburg elections board rules on challenge to NC Senate candidate’s primary win
Tensions flared Friday at the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections following a unanimous vote by the five-member board to dismiss Lucille’s Puckett’s protest of her opponent’s Democratic primary win.
“I felt it was bull crap,” Puckett said to the Observer after the dismissal. “They base things on personal experiences. They didn’t take all the evidence presented into consideration.”
In her protest, Puckett alleged the winner of state Senate District 41, Caleb Theodros, did not meet the necessary residency requirements to run in the district. That’s two years “in the state as a citizen” and one year living within the district’s boundaries, according to state statutes. The challenge called for Theodros to be disqualified as a candidate and removed from contention for the seat.
Theodros got the most votes among four candidates on Election Day, with 42.9% of ballots cast. Puckett was in second with 31.2%. Kendrick Cunningham and Robert Bruns followed, with 16.5% and 9.4%, respectively. No Republicans or third-party candidates filed to run in the district. So, the Democratic primary winner will head to Raleigh.
Senate District 41 is currently represented by Democratic Sen. Natasha Marcus, but she opted to run for state insurance commissioner rather than another term in the legislature after she was drawn out by redistricting. The new District 41 stretches from west Charlotte to Plaza Midwood.
DUKE ENERGY BILL DISCUSSED
Puckett cited a report from WSOC-TV, which said Theodros didn’t update his voter registration to an address in District 41 until late November. He previously was registered in Senate District 40 and told WSOC-TV he moved to his current residence in the district in July 2023.
During the meeting, the board discussed whether evidence Puckett provided established probable cause to move forward with a hearing. One piece of evidence: A Duke Energy bill registered to the address Theodros now lives at in June 2023 to someone other than Theodros.
The board didn’t take long to decide.
Board member Chris Fialko said the bill wasn’t enough to be probable cause for a hearing, he said.
Chair Beverly Miller Earle shared a similar sentiment, saying she wasn’t sure if her son had a lease or utility bill in his name. They were either in her name or a roommate’s name. So, a lease or a utility bill without Theodros’ name was not enough evidence for her.
“The evidence that he registered to change his registration to vote after the one-year time period, doesn’t influence me at all,” Fialko said. “People often are delayed in changing their registration. And as the chair said, the evidence of a utility bill being in someone else’s name, I don’t think established enough evidence in my mind to establish probable cause.”
Fialko made the motion to dismiss the protest, which was seconded by member Mary Potter Summa. The board voted for the motion unanimously.
PUCKETT TO APPEAL TO STATE
Puckett said Friday she plans to appeal to the State Board of Elections because it would be more objective.
“Hearing and seeing what I saw in there, all evidence was not taken into consideration,” Puckett said.
Puckett previously told the Observer she feels it’s “not normal” if Theodros changed his voter registration twice in 2023. She said it appears he waited until redistricting to pick where he’d live and run for office. She also questioned whether Theodros’ address on file today is his primary residence.
“If you look at my protest, there was enough evidence to propose a reasonable doubt,” she said Friday.
THEODROS RESPONDS TO DISMISSAL
According to State Board of Elections records, Theodros first registered to vote in North Carolina in 2012. He’s voted in multiple general elections and Democratic primaries — all while registered in Mecklenburg County. He voted by mail in last week’s primary, records show. Before that, he last voted in person in the 2022 general election.
“I am glad to see the Board of Elections’ swift dismissal of my opponent’s baseless residency claim, which allows us to refocus our efforts on addressing the critical issues affecting the communities of District 41,” Theodros in a statement to the Observer. “My unwavering dedication lies with the people and their concerns, not political gamesmanship. It is time to move forward.”
BOARD FINALIZES ELECTION VOTES
Later on Friday, the Board of Election also finalized vote tallies from the 2024 primary. It added 260 votes to the total, including 255 provisional and five absentee ballots. The added votes will not add enough to any races to trigger a recount and no results changed.
The now-official results say 148,057 ballots were cast out of 788,704 registered voters in Mecklenburg County — a turnout of 18.77%.
