NC chief justice leads by just 35 votes as counting continues

The race for Supreme Court chief justice was going down to the wire as county boards of election continued to count absentee ballots.

Chief Justice Cheri Beasley, a Democrat, and Justice Paul Newby, a Republican, traded leads multiple times Friday. Newby led most of the afternoon and into the evening.

Around 8 p.m., Beasley took back the lead over Newby with just 100 votes, after Guilford County’s canvass had been reported. As of Sunday at 9 a.m., she led by just 35 votes, with five counties still not reporting final vote totals.

Newby led incumbent Beasley, the incumbent, by 4,000 votes on Election Night, Nov. 3, but watched his margin narrow until Beasley jumped in front Thursday night.

Newby and Beasley both hold seats on the Supreme Court bench but their terms expire at the end of the year.

County boards of elections have been meeting to count votes in recent days and have updated results in increments. Most boards did a final review and certification of votes on Friday.

North Carolina’s attorney general race also remains undecided.

State law allows a candidate to request a recount in statewide races if they are trailing their opponent by less than 0.5% or 10,000 votes, whichever is less. Beasley was trailing her challenger within those margins, but as of 5 p.m., O’Neill had around 14,000 votes separating him from Stein.

The Republican Party announced last week that leaders already had met to start fundraising for a recount in the Supreme Court race.

Other races

Those races were among several statewide that were too close to call on Election Night.

The AP declared President Donald Trump the winner in North Carolina Friday afternoon. Trump was ahead of Joe Biden in North Carolina by 72,986 votes as of 1 p.m. Friday, though major news outlets called the race nationwide for Biden on Saturday.

The AP called the races for auditor and labor commissioner Wednesday night after determining trailing candidates would not be able to make up enough votes to win.

In the Supreme Court race for Seat 2 between Republican Phil Berger Jr. and Democrat Lucy Inman, Berger led by about 70,000 votes as of early Friday afternoon. While The AP had not called the race yet, Inman said she contacted Berger to congratulate him, according to a statement on Twitter about 7 p.m. Thursday.

“Although the AP has not yet called this race, we are too far behind to catch up,” Inman tweeted.

Both have been justices on the N.C. Court of Appeals.

“I am grateful and honored to continue serving on the NC Court of Appeals,” Inman wrote. “Without a doubt, I will be on the ballot in 2022, running either for re-election or for an open seat on the Supreme Court should one arise.”

Berger responded by tweeting, “I have enjoyed working with Judge Inman over the last four years. She has been a wonderful colleague, and I respect her and her work on the Court. Thank you for your call, and a hard-fought race run the the right way.”

Votes left to count

County boards of election across the state were still counting ballots that came in through the mail through Thursday at 5 p.m., as long as they were postmarked by Election Day. Since Nov. 3, about 38,000 mail-in ballots have been accepted, according to state data as of Friday morning.

About 20,000 provisional ballots needed to be considered. Provisional ballots are votes cast if there are problems at the polls.

Altogether, there were about 25,000 potential votes remaining to be counted as of Friday morning.

Election results in North Carolina aren’t official until they’re certified by the State Board of Elections on Nov. 24.

Both sitting judges

Former Gov. Bev Perdue appointed Beasley to the Supreme Court in 2012, and Gov. Roy Cooper, in 2019, appointed Beasley to replace former Chief Justice Mark Martin for the state’s top judicial position. That appointment made Beasley the first African American woman to serve in that capacity.

Newby has served on the N.C. Supreme Court for two terms after winning his first election in 2004.

North Carolina Supreme Court justices serve 8-year terms.

The Supreme Court is the state’s highest court and makes decisions about whether lower courts correctly interpret state laws. There are six associate justices besides the chief justice. The chief justice serves as the head of the North Carolina judicial system.

Staff writer Tyler Dukes contributed to this report.

This story was originally published November 12, 2020 at 7:37 PM with the headline "NC chief justice leads by just 35 votes as counting continues."