RALEIGH, N.C. — Voters still do not know who will run the North Carolina state Senate. Control of the General Assembly’s upper chamber now turns on one unfinished race along the southern border, where Republican Sen. Danny Britt’s edge over Democrat Catina Hamm slipped to 245 votes Friday as provisional ballots began to clear.
Right after Election Day, Britt led by 268 votes in Senate District 24, which spans Robeson, Hoke and Scotland counties. Hoke County workers accepted 59 provisional ballots Friday and tossed 105 others, most often because voters lacked photo ID and had no accepted excuse. More than 650 provisional ballots are still waiting — roughly 530 in Robeson and about 130 in Scotland.
If Britt holds, Republicans keep the state Senate at 26-24. If Hamm catches him, the chamber ties 25-25 and Democratic Lt. Gov. Rachel Hunt would break ties, giving Democrats a path to pass legislation with Gov. Josh Stein after they already flipped the House on Tuesday.
County boards must finish eligible provisional and cured absentee ballots by Tuesday. Overseas and military envelopes may still arrive through mid-November. County canvasses land Nov. 13, and certification of the Senate contest is on the State Board of Elections calendar for Nov. 24.
A recount is possible but not automatic. State law lets the trailing candidate in a multi-county legislative race ask for one when the margin is 1 percent or less; the gap now sits near half a percentage point. Any recount request for this district is due to the State Board by noon Nov. 17.
Britt’s campaign said Friday it remains confident the senator and a Republican majority will stand. Hamm and Senate Democratic spokespeople did not immediately weigh in on the latest tally.
The count is also testing ballot rules the Republican-led State Board adopted in July. Those rules let a simple majority of a county board reject photo-ID exemption forms that once required a unanimous vote to discard, a change Democrats opposed when it was adopted.
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