Recounts and protests: Where does NC’s contested Berger-Page election stand now?
Good morning and welcome to today’s edition of Under the Dome. I’m democracy reporter Kyle Ingram.
The seemingly interminable battle over Senate leader Phil Berger’s political future continued this week as recounts and election protests prolonged the tight Republican primary.
As of Thursday evening, Berger remained 23 votes behind his challenger, Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page, following a full machine recount of the results.
Berger also has outstanding election protests, in which he argues that certain irregularities could’ve affected the outcome of the race.
Here’s where things go from here:
Sample hand recount
Berger has signaled that he is likely to call for a sample hand recount now that the machine recount is finished.
He has 24 hours after the machine recount to do so, and had not indicated his intention as of Thursday evening.
In a sample hand recount, election officials randomly select 3% of precincts and early voting sites in the district and hand count the votes there.
If the sample recount shows significant discrepancies — which is historically unlikely — the State Board of Elections can then order a full hand-to-eye recount of all ballots cast in the district.
Election protests
Berger has four outstanding election protests that will be considered by election officials.
On Thursday, the Guilford and Rockingham County boards of elections agreed to let Berger’s protests proceed at preliminary hearings, though they did not weigh in on the merits of his claims.
In Guilford, Berger claims that as many as eight voters were given the incorrect ballot and were therefore unable to participate in the Republican primary for his Senate seat.
And in Rockingham, Berger has filed three protests. He alleges that:
- An unaffiliated voter was told she had to participate in the Democratic primary, rather than Berger’s Republican primary.
- Another voter’s registration was improperly processed, leading officials to not count her vote.
- Three unaffiliated voters were improperly allowed to vote a Republican ballot after initially requesting a Democratic one.
Berger’s protests would only affect 13 voters at most — not enough to clear his gap with Page.
But, election protests can — in rare cases — result in a new election being called. This would require a vote of at least four of the five members of the State Board of Elections.
Rockingham scheduled a full hearing on Berger’s protests for March 27 at 2 p.m.
Guilford will hold its hearing on April 6 at 2 p.m.
Taking it to court?
Ultimately, the election could end up in court.
If Berger loses on his election protests with state and local election boards, he can appeal the case to Wake County Superior Court.
From there, the case could work its way up to the North Carolina Supreme Court, where Berger’s son, Phil Berger Jr., is a sitting justice.
Headlines you won’t want to miss
- After full recount, Berger still trails Page in hotly-contested Republican primary
- North Carolina lawmakers want to take property tax cap to state voters
- Rockingham County jail officers suspended as use-of-force investigation ongoing
- Republican Rep. Mike Clampitt, House member from Western NC, has died
- NC senator asks for investigation of ties between his colleague and a lobbyist
- Former NC Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson admits porn habit, lied to protect Trump
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This story was originally published March 20, 2026 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Recounts and protests: Where does NC’s contested Berger-Page election stand now?."
