Three 2024 elections in Charlotte area are close enough for recounts if campaigns ask
Three races in the Charlotte area are close enough that they fall within recount territory, Kristin Mavromatis, public information manager for the county’s Board of Elections said Wednesday.
Recounts in North Carolina are not automatic.
Candidates can request a recount in a non-statewide election if the difference in total votes is not more than 1%.
In the race for N.C. state Senate District 42, Democrat Woodson Bradley is ahead of Republican Stacie McGinn by just 27 votes, according to unofficial results.
A recount in the race for N.C. state Senate District 37 would also be allowable, said Mavromatis. Republican Vickie Sawyer is ahead of Democrat Kate Compton Barr by just 116 votes or 0.56%. But the district mostly covers Republican-leaning Iredell County, where Sawyer won big. So, a recount in Mecklenburg County is unlikely to change the final result.
And Republican Tricia Cotham is currently ahead of Democrat Nicole Sidman in the race for N.C. House of Representatives District 105 by 275 votes, or 0.52%.
The statewide race for an associate justice seat on the state Supreme Court between Democratic incumbent Allison Riggs and Republican Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin is also close enough for a statewide recount.
A candidate for statewide office can request a recount if the leading candidate is ahead by not more than 0.5% of the votes cast, or 10,000 votes — whichever is less.
Griffin is ahead of Riggs by 10,130 votes, or 0.18% of the votes, unofficial results show.
There are no local races in Gaston County, Union County, or Catawba County close enough for recounts, according to each county’s Board of Elections.
Cabarrus County and Lincoln County’s Boards of Elections directors could not be reached on Wednesday.
Outstanding ballots
With voting over, county election boards will begin canvassing and auditing the results.
During canvassing, election officials count votes and authenticate the results. They count absentee ballots and research provisional ballots to determine if they should be counted, the N.C. state Board of Elections website says.
Mavromatis said there are about 5,000 outstanding provisional ballots in Mecklenburg County, and just over 4,000 absentee ballots.
The board will meet Thursday, she said, to start counting the outstanding absentee ballots. Federal Write-In Absentee Ballots, which are used by people living overseas and in the military, will be counted on Nov. 14, Mavromatis said.
A team has already started working through the provisional ballots, she said.
Gaston County Board of Elections Director Adam Ragan said 1,340 outstanding provisional ballots were completed during early voting and on Election Day. The county also received a little over 200 mail-in ballots on Tuesday.
Philip Hinson, deputy director of the Union County Board of Elections, said the county is still counting the number of provisional ballots and absentee ballots and doesn’t know the number yet.
In Iredell County, Susie Jordan, the Board of Elections director, said there are 816 outstanding provisional ballots. The county is still counting absentee ballots and doesn’t know the total yet.
And Catawba County has 574 provisional ballots, said Amanda Duncan, director of the Board of Elections. She said she didn’t know the number of absentee ballots yet.
