Awaiting the Canvass
Fifth District race yet to be determined

By Scott Nicholson

Roy Carter may have to wait a few more days to nail down the last sentence of his victory speech.

Carter leads Diane Hamby in the race to go against Rep. Virginia Foxx for the 5th District U.S. Congressional seat, but Hamby should be eligible to call for a recount after Tuesday’s canvass. However, her chances of victory for the party’s nomination are slim, and the number of provisional ballots will likely give her extra time to mull a recount.

A total of 2,761 provisional ballots was cast across the 5th District, mathematically enough to close the gap for Hamby but not likely to affect the final outcome. Carter, a retired teacher and football coach in Ashe County, led by 531 votes in unofficial election returns, and typically provisional ballot percentages fall in line with the other results.

Mary Scott Hardwick, Hamby’s campaign manager, said Tuesday, “We are waiting for the vote to be canvassed in all 12 counties, so that we can see how the provisional ballots have turned out. All of the counties are supposed to be doing the canvass today, but Forsyth County has been granted an extension by the state. Since Forsyth County has the largest number of provisional ballots, I do not think we will be able to make a decision until we have those results.”

The Watauga County Board of Elections approved 40 of its 119 provisional votes, which are ballots cast on Election Day by people who show up at polls but whose names don’t appear on the precinct roll. The elections office then tries to verify eligibility using information, such as N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles records.

Hamby, a Statesville business owner and former Iredell County commissioner, earlier said she would call for a recount if the ballots fall within the state statute requirements. Hamby would have the option of calling for a recount, which would be an actual hand-eye count of the paper ballots, if there’s a 1-percent or less difference.

In unofficial returns, Carter led by less than half of a percentage point. He had 39,884 to Hamby’s 39,353 votes. In Watauga County’s canvass, Carter gained 12 votes to Hamby’s six. The winner will face incumbent Republican Virginia Foxx in the fall.

Of the provisional ballots that weren’t approved, one was automatically rejected because of a lack of birth date and street address. Five were Republicans who insisted on voting in the Democratic primary even though the ballot was only open to Democrats or unaffiliated voters. Other provisional ballots were rejected on the basis of registration in other counties, lack of information or records, or unreported moves. Those voters will have their information sent to the appropriate counties so they can be eligible to vote in the General Election.

The canvass turned up two voters who had been purged from the active registration records because they had not voted in the last two presidential elections. They were approved because the elections office still had records of their registration.

In Watauga County, Tim Futrelle gained 14 more votes against Doug McGuinn’s one to solidify his commanding victory in the county commission primary. Futrelle, a Democrat, will be unopposed in the fall, barring a petition drive by an unaffiliated candidate.

Boone dentist Jerry Butler and former Alexander County party chairman Dwight Shook each received four of the provisional votes, securing Butler’s victory for the Republican nomination in the District 45 N.C. Senate race. Butler will face incumbent Democrat Steve Goss in November.

In a statewide race that is expected to trigger a second primary on June 20, the Democratic N.C. Commissioner of Labor race spread votes among four candidates. In unofficial statewide returns, Mary Fant Donnan received 27.6 percent of the votes, John C. Brooks received 24.4 percent, Ty Richardson received 24.1 percent and Robin Anderson received 23.9 percent. In Watauga provisional returns, Donnan picked up three votes, Richardson two, Anderson five and Brooks one.

Voter turnout in Watauga County was over 30 percent, with more than a third of voters casting their ballots during the one-stop early-voting period. Elections director Jane Hodges said statistics were not yet available on how many registered members in each of the parties voted and in which party’s primaries unaffiliated voters cast their ballots. However, she said based on informal observation by poll workers, about 90 percent of unaffiliated voters were choosing the Democratic primary. A total of 8,369 voters cast Democrat ballots and 3,211 cast Republican ballots.

Hodges attributed much of that interest to the presidential race, saying the last two primaries had seen more Republican interest because of contested local races. “How many of us thought we’d be a hot spot for a presidential election?” she said.

The Forsyth County Board of Elections has asked the State Board of Elections for an extension as it seeks to verify 1,275 provisional ballots. Hamby would have two business days to call for a recount, and Brooks could request a runoff in the commissioner of labor race, since no candidate got more than 40 percent of the total. Hodges said a runoff would cost the county at least $40,000, and the State Board of Elections predicted the statewide primary could cost $4 million.

Johnnie McLean, deputy director of the State Board of Elections, said there was no definitive deadline for the Forsyth County extension, and her interpretation of state statute was that Hamby’s deadline for requesting a recount would be determined by Forsyth’s completion of its canvass. Hamby would then have until 5 p.m. of the following business day to file her request.

“I would like to think they’d complete it as quickly as possible,” McLean said.