Ballot count dispute remains unresolved

Inauguration Day for state officials might be over, but the judicial battle for the role of North Carolina’s state superintendent of public instruction rages on.

The N.C. State Board of Elections stated Tuesday that out-of-precinct votes are valid but that the N.C. Supreme Court will decide in the near future if the board’s decision will stand.

Democrat June Atkinson is ahead after earning about 8,500 more votes than Republican Bill Fletcher. But she cannot assume her position until the Supreme Court decides.

Atkinson said that on Election Day, 11,310 people voted out of their precinct, but they voted in the correct county.

“I find it difficult to separate provisional ballots into separate categories,” she said.

Atkinson said voting precincts should not matter as long as the vote was cast in the right county.

“People might have moved from one precinct to another,” she said.

Atkinson said these people might not have known they were supposed to vote in a different precinct. She said some voters might have thought their votes were still valid, even if they switched precincts.

Atkinson also said voters were allowed to vote out of precinct during early voting.

“The question is, ‘Does one day make a difference?’” she said.

But Fletcher said the Board of Elections should require that voters cast their vote in the right precinct. “We may want to change public policy … but the Constitution does not permit that in current form. The Constitution is very clear.”

He said this is the first year there has been confusion regarding out-of-precinct votes.

Bob Hall, research director for Democracy North Carolina, said some people vote out of their precincts because they do not have flexible work schedules or transportation.

“We’re opposed to restricting people’s ability to vote,” said Hall, whose organization also filed a brief in support of the Board’s decision. “That would be a real travesty.”

Hall said that with today’s technology, voting precincts are obsolete — two dozen voting machines could even be set up at shopping centers.

“This is part of modernizing our voting system,” he said.

This is not the only case of voting chaos in the state. The race for commissioner of agriculture is still up in the air after more than 4,000 votes were lost when electronic ballots in Carteret County exceeded machine memory.

Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.