Trump's win in NC, most other elections across state certified
The State Board of Elections voted 4-1 Tuesday to certify the results of the Nov. 3 elections in North Carolina, including President Donald Trump winning the state's 15 electoral votes.
Posted — UpdatedElections Director Karen Brinson Bell lauded the efforts of her staff and county boards of elections to carry out a record-setting election during a global pandemic without a single case of coronavirus to be linked to voting.
Following are some of the marks set during the election:
- North Carolina now has more than 7.3 million registered voters.
- More than 1.1 million votes were cast absentee-by-mail.
- About 3.6 million votes were cast during the 17-day early voting period, which covered 77,887 hours at 471 sites statewide.
- Between mailed ballots, early voting and voting done on Election Day, 75.4 percent of registered voters cast ballots.
"This election was secure. This election was safe. This election was conducted in the midst of a pandemic, and yet we achieved record turnout," board Chairman Damon Circosta said.
Republican board member Tommy Tucker, a former state senator, cast the lone vote against certification, saying changes made this fall to the rules for mail-in absentee voting were illegal.
"The unconstitutional changes that this board, director and attorney general and lawyers and courts made 90 days before the election really created a lot of confusion," Tucker said. "We need to get this right before the next election. We don't need to be changing election laws unless we go before the General Assembly."
Other board members took exception to Tucker's comments, calling them "reasonable efforts" to carry out an election during a pandemic.
"Our job is to make sure the 5.5 million people who voted in this election have their voices heard," Circosta said.
The only races that weren't certified were five where protests have been lodged that still need to be addressed:
- North Carolina Supreme Court chief justice, where Justice Paul Newby leads Chief Justice Cheri Beasley by 432 votes. A statewide recount is already underway in that race.
- House District 36, where Rep. Julie von Haefen, D-Wake, defeated Republican Kim Coley 53 to 43 percent.
- A Wake County District Court judgeship, where local elections officials have disqualified the apparent winner, Democrat Tim Gunther, because he doesn't live in District 10F.
- Hoke County Board of Education. where Niecy McAllister-McRae and Keisha Gill appeared to win the two seats
- Wayne County Register of Deeds, where Democrat Constance Coram defeated write-in candidate Tina Arnder 55 to 43 percent.
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