RALEIGH, N.C. — The race for North Carolina’s 10th Congressional District is headed for a recount after Democrat Ashley Bell formally asked state election officials to retabulate the ballots, citing a final canvass margin of 0.84% behind Republican U.S. Rep. Pat Harrigan.
Bell sent her request to the State Board of Elections by email at 3:55 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13, the same day county boards certified their Nov. 3 results, and the board posted it that afternoon. Her filing points to the state recount statute, G.S. 163-182.7. Under that law, a candidate who finishes behind in a contest that is not statewide may demand one if the margin is 1% or less.
After the canvass, Harrigan leads by 2,509 votes out of 295,381 cast. His election-night edge had been 3,029 votes, and it shrank by 520 once counties folded in provisional ballots and others found eligible. A third name, Libertarian Steven Feldman, also appeared in the race. Harrigan is finishing his first term.
Five counties make up the 10th: Forsyth, Iredell, Catawba, Lincoln and Yadkin. Forsyth leaned heavily toward Bell, who took about 68% of the vote there. Her campaign has said it is not alleging fraud but wants to make sure every eligible ballot is counted, pointing to what it described as technology-related irregularities.
County boards will run the recount and pay for it, feeding every ballot in the race back through tabulators with bipartisan teams. Each board must give at least 48 hours of public notice, and the public may watch. State officials expect machine recounts to wrap up by Nov. 23. Afterward, whoever is still behind gets one day to request that people count by hand the ballots from 3% of precincts and early voting sites, drawn at random.
The result is not final until the State Board certifies it. Board members are set to meet Nov. 24 to consider statewide certification.
Section: More Raleigh NC politics news
Filed under: Raleigh NC Politics News
