State Board certifies election results, recount results

Andrew Rice, Reporter
November 30, 2022

The North Carolina State Board of Elections voted unanimously to certify the results of the 2022 general election Tuesday, according to a press release.

The state board was able to certify results after the 100 county boards of elections certified results at the county level.
Six counties across the state held recounts before the state board certified results. According to the state Board of Elections press release, county election boards conducted machine recounts.

Candidates are allowed to request recounts when a vote is within one percentage point.

Democrats Angela King, Billy Kennedy and Holly Fehl requested recounts for their election races. The recounts resulted in their opposing candidates retaining their winning margins.

Board of commissioners District 1:

Republican Todd Castle maintained his lead over Democrat Angela King with 11,278 votes, one vote added to his total after the recount. Angela King lost one vote after the recount leaving her with 11,245 votes.

Board of commissioners District 3:

Republican Braxton Eggers retained his lead over incumbent Democrat Billy Kennedy with 11,322 votes, with two votes added to his total after the recount. Kennedy also gained a vote after the recount for a total of 11,315 votes.

Clerk of Superior Court:

Republican Charles Haynes retained his lead against Democrat Holly Fehl with 11,227 votes, having three additional votes added to the previous count from the recount. Fehl also gained two additional votes after the recount.

In total, 13 votes changed out of 22,931 cast in Watauga County. The majority of the votes changed were due to county election officials acknowledging the intent of the voter where the machine counted an overvote.

According to Article 15 of the N.C. General Statutes, An overvote is when a voter selects more than the required number of candidates for a specific office. Ballot counting machines can tabulate more than the required number of votes in a specific office.

“These audits and recounts once again showed that voters can trust the certified and tested voting equipment to accurately count ballots in North Carolina elections,” said Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the state BOE in a press release.

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