Vote Recounts Confirm Wake County Winners

Wake County officials recently completed recounts in four contested races, without any of the controversy plaguing the presidential race recounts in Florida.

The Wake County recount, which was certified Nov. 22, reaffirmed the prior tallies in all four races and was completed in just four days.

In the labor commissioner race, Democrat Doug Berger maintained his victory over Republican Cherie Berry.

The recount also confirmed Democrat Jim Fuller's loss to Republican John Tyson for a seat on the N.C. Court of Appeals.

In two Wake County races, Republican Kenn Gardner clinched his victory over Democrat Yevonne Brannon in the county commissioner race and Republican Kris Bailey beat Democrat Fred Morelock in the race for Wake County District 10 judge.

"There were no electoral decisions changed, but there were a few minor vote changes in some precincts," said Cherie Poucher, Wake County Board of Elections director.

The candidates with fewer Wake County votes in each of the four races requested the recount.

State law allows local candidates to request a recount if the difference is less than 1 percent of the total votes cast. State candidates can request recounts if the apparent winner leads by fewer than 10,000 votes.

The Wake County recount was done by running the ballots through the counting machines again.

Some people marked their ballots with a blue ballpoint pen, preventing machines from reading the ballots and requiring officials to count those by hand.

Poucher said several of the candidates in the contested races and other members of the community witnessed the recount process and were pleased with the process. "Most people have been very complimentary on the entire process," Poucher said. "We were pleased because we feel like everyone has given us a pat on the back."

Bailey, whose victory was reaffirmed, said that he was at first a bit skeptical of the recount process. But he said that he ultimately approved of the recount.

"The recount was really encouraging to me. I stood by and watched it all because I was intrigued by it, and in the end, I found the process to be legit," he said. "You see a lot of the arguing going on in Florida right now due to the recounts, but the recount in Wake County was different. It was very professional."

The candidates who lost these races would not comment on the recount.

The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.