State lawmaker's claims of NC elections irregularities rejected by county officials
Elections officials in northeastern North Carolina voted unanimously to dismiss claims of election irregularities in the March primaries, resolving challenges by an incumbent state lawmaker who appears to have narrowly lost the March 5 primary to a political newcomer.
Rep. Michael Wray, a 20-year veteran of the state legislature, filed protests in the three counties he represents in the state legislature — Halifax, Northampton and Warren counties. He claimed that voters were given the wrong ballots, voting machines malfunctioned and that would-be voters were wrongfully turned away, among other complaints.
Wray, D-Northampton, had been hoping to reverse the unofficial results from election night, which showed him losing by just 41 votes to challenger Rodney Pierce. As of Monday night, as officials continued looking into provisional ballots and other issues, that gap had narrowed to a 35-vote lead for Pierce.
Wray said in a written statement that he hopes an upcoming recount will continue narrowing that gap.
He was allowed to request a recount because the initial results showed less than 1% of the vote separating him and Pierce.
"We are disappointed that the protests were dismissed but appreciate each county board’s consideration," Wray said. "Our focus has been to ensure that every vote is counted. That is why we asked the counties to review those ballots. The gap in this race has narrowed since election day as the counties have added provisional ballots. We are looking forward to the results of the recount."
All three boards — each composed of Republican and Democratic members — voted unanimously to dismiss Wray's claims.
"I greatly appreciate the boards' careful consideration of these matters and am pleased that they agreed that Mr. Wray protests were meritless," Pierce told WRAL Tuesday. "I look forward to the recount to make sure every eligible voter's vote is counted and I am confident that it will confirm the results of the initial count."
The fight might not be over yet, however. In addition to the ongoing recount, Wray will also have the option to appeal the dismissals of his protest claims. He had not yet done so as of Tuesday afternoon.
The contest between Wray and Pierce was one of several in which progressive and pro-environment activists targeted more moderate, pro-business Democratic incumbent state lawmakers who sometimes voted with Republicans on bills that split the two parties.
Rep. Cecil Brockman, D-Guilford, was able to narrowly hang on in his primary but Sen. Mike Woodard, D-Durham, was defeated by challenger Sophia Chitlik.
In the two House races, Wray and Brockman were backed by a dark money group with ties to Republican legislative leadership, WRAL previously reported. Other campaign finance reports indicate that the North Carolina League of Conservation Voters, an environmental group, was among the left-leaning groups working to unseat Wray.
