NC board says Charlotte Senate candidate’s election challenge deserves a hearing

The results of a Charlotte-area state Senate race remain in question after state officials voted Thursday to overturn a ruling by the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections.

The State Board of Elections voted 4-1 to grant Lucille Puckett, the second-place finisher in the Democratic primary for Senate District 41, a hearing in her protest against top vote-getter Caleb Theodros. Puckett filed her protest with the county in March, alleging Theodros did not properly establish residency in the district.

The county board voted unanimously to deny her a hearing, saying she didn’t have enough evidence to proceed. But the state board said Thursday she presented enough probable cause to be heard by the Mecklenburg board. The county board will be contacted to schedule the evidentiary hearing, spokeswoman Kristin Mavromatis said.

“Without an evidentiary hearing, I’m not quite sure how we would resolve this otherwise,” said state board member Stacy Eggers IV.

Thursday’s ruling was a win for the district and election integrity, Puckett told The Charlotte Observer.

“That’s what my fight is all about. It’s not about winning or losing an election,” she said. “... We have to hold our Board of Elections accountable.”

Theodros said in a statement he believes the county board will upheld his apparent win.

“While I initially believed the state board of elections should have dismissed the appeal, I eagerly anticipate the Mecklenburg Board of Election’s forthcoming determination that the accusations are baseless; as they already have,” he said. “With the election concluded, I am eager to focus on governance and moving forward.”

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.

The district 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.

Puckett questions Theodros’ residency

Puckett filed her protest March 13 with the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections, alleging Theodros has not lived in the district long enough to meet the residency requirement. State statutes say candidates for the North Carolina Senate must have been a citizen of the state for at least two years and lived in their district for at least one year prior to the general election.

Puckett cited reporting from The Charlotte Observer’s news partner 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. She also referenced a June 2023 Duke Energy bill for his District 41 address registered to someone other than Theodros.

The new District 41 stretches from west Charlotte to Plaza Midwood. District 40 is in northeast Charlotte.

Theodros repeatedly has said he moved to his current address in the correct district before the deadline and simply did not update his voter registration immediately upon moving.

The challenge called for Theodros to be disqualified as a candidate and removed from contention for the seat.

But the five-member county board voted unanimously at their election canvass March 15 to dismiss the protest and not grant Puckett a hearing.

“The evidence that he registered to change his registration to vote after the one-year time period doesn’t influence me at all,” county board member Chris Fialko said at the time. “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.”

It was a decision Puckett called “bull crap” and vowed to appeal to the state board.

“They base things on personal experiences. They didn’t take all the evidence presented into consideration,” she said at the time.

State board: County best suited to make final decision

At Thursday’s state meeting, most board members agreed the decision on Theodros’ eligibility for office should come down to evidence, and that it’s the county board’s responsibility to hold evidentiary hearings.

“I’m not sure where the facts ultimately will lead with this,” Eggers said. “... It’s a question of facts.”

Board member Kevin Lewis offered a similar assessment,

“I wish Mecklenburg had had a hearing on this case … The facts would have been found by the time it got to us,” he said. “(Theodros) may very well have residency, but I just think the appropriate fact-finder is the county board and not the state board.”

Board chair Alan Hirsch was the lone vote in favor of dismissing Puckett’s appeal and upholding the initial county decision, calling her case “speculative.”

“When someone moves, the very first thing they do is not to change their voter registration,” he said.

In her statement after the state’s vote, Mavromatis said Puckett “was able to present additional documents to the state” in the form of a “certified letter that was signed for in March by Mr. Theodros.”

During Thursday’s hearing, Puckett claimed she mailed a certified letter to Theodros at an address outside the district and that it was signed for. Theodros responded by saying “I don’t know what that’s about” but added that the address Puckett said she mailed the letter to is similar to his parents’ address.

Who are Caleb Theodros and Lucille Puckett?

Theodros is the former chair of the Black Political Caucus of Charlotte-Mecklenburg and a past candidate for Charlotte City Council District 3.

On election night, he called his apparent win “a profound honor” and said he would focus on issues such as mental health, economic development and women’s rights in the legislature.

Puckett is a previous candidate for Charlotte mayor and the state legislature. She also has leadership experience with the Charlotte Housing Authority Board and NAACP, among other civic groups. Puckett said in her Observer candidate survey she would prioritize addressing gun violence, low-income housing and economic mobility if elected.

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