These Mecklenburg County contests are still close after unofficial Election Day results
Votes are tallied, but there’s still more to do before candidates can relax in three Mecklenburg County elections.
At least for now, Republican incumbent Tariq Bokhari appears to be the winner of his District 6 Charlotte City Council rematch against Democrat Stephanie Hand. A mayoral candidate in Cornelius leads by just 13 votes, and two candidates in Cornelius are tied.
With all precincts reporting, Bokhari, District 6’s Republican incumbent, leads Democratic challenger Hand by 352 votes. In 2022, he beat her by 357 votes.
But Hand isn’t conceding the south Charlotte district just yet, she told reporters shortly after 10 p.m.
“It ain’t over yet. We’re not finished yet,” Hand said, adding that she’s looking at the possibility of requesting a recount.
About 362 provisional ballots were cast countywide, said Joe Bruno, a reporter for The Charlotte Observer’s news partner WSOC-TV. Those ballots allow people to vote even if there are questions about their registration status or if they’ve gone to the wrong location to vote. Roughly 400 mail-in absentee votes are still outstanding, Bruno reported.
Those ballots could change the tally in Charlotte’s most closely watched election, but it’s unclear whether they would be enough for Hand to catch up.
Cornelius and Pineville
Elsewhere in Mecklenburg County, Cornelius Mayor Woody Washam Jr. leads by just 13 votes over his challenger Denis Bilodeau after more than 5,500 votes were cast.
Provisional ballots and mail-in votes could change the total, but that election is already close enough for a recount to be requested. Washam has 2,767 votes and Bilodeau has 2,754 votes.
The town council election in Pineville is even closer than that, with two candidates tied for the final spot.
With 676 votes, Amelia Stinson-Wesley finished atop four candidates for two seats on the Pineville council. But Eric Fransen and Danielle Moore are tied for the second spot with 624 votes each.
They’ll need to wait to see if mail-in or absentee votes change the final count before either could ask for a recount.
If the count remains tied after the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections finalizes the vote tally as part of its canvass, the board “shall break the tie by a method of random selection,” according to state law.
This story was originally published November 8, 2023 at 10:53 AM.
