All 3 election protests thrown out, but recounts will extend NC race by another week

A state lawmaker who lost his reelection bid has filed three recount requests in the tight race for a northeastern North Carolina seat. This follows his filing of three election protests last week citing voting irregularities in the results of the House District 27 race.

During the state’s primary, Democratic Rep. Michael Wray, who has served 20 years in the legislature, lost to Rodney Pierce, a social studies teacher, by a margin of 0.36%, or 42 votes. That is within the 1% threshold for a mandatory recount of a non-statewide ballot item.

On Monday evening, Wray filed three separate recount requests in Halifax, Northampton and Warren counties. These followed his filing of three election protests last week, also in these counties. Two of the protests were dismissed this week, leaving one awaiting a resolution.

Pierce said in a text to The News & Observer that he greatly appreciated “the board’s careful consideration of these matters and am pleased that they agreed that Mr. Wray’s protests were meritless.”

“I look forward to to the recount to make sure every eligible voter’s vote is counted and I am confident that it will confirm the results of the initial count,” Pierce said.

Recounts and protests

In Northampton County, elections board deputy director Bridgette Sawyer said the board had unanimously voted to dismiss the protest there and had scheduled its recount for Thursday at 10 a.m.

Warren County’s recount is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Monday, said Debbie Formyduval, director of the Warren board of elections. Wray’s protest was dismissed Tuesday during a protest hearing, she said.

For the recount, Formyduval said, the county will set up three or four machines, “and every counted ballot, from one-stop, to Election Day, to mail absentee, to provisional will be run back through these machines, and we will upload them to the state and we will create a canvas report for the recount.”

She said about 3,800 ballots would need to be run through the machines during a public meeting — which anyone can observe, and which would likely take hours.

Depending on the results, the county “will seek further direction from the state,” she said.

Kristin Scott, director of the Halifax County board of elections, told The N&O that the board unanimously voted to dismiss the protest and that the recount will be held on Friday at 10 a.m.

The N&O could not immediately reach Wray.

According to state law, if a recount done by machines doesn’t change an election result, a candidate can ask for a second recount, done by hand. If it does change the results, the candidate who originally won can request another recount.