The majority of the ballots set for approval come from the large pool of absentee ballots: 1474 of them, to be exact. Another 345 absentee ballots are expected to be added to that total, but are held under a separate status because they involved a photo ID exception form.
Because these ballots are expected to favor Democratic candidates, they could impact the outcome of the close races for school board and county commissioner seats.
Aside from mail-in ballots, there are 1970 provisional ballots, cast when there are questions about voter qualifications (like residency or whether they chose the right polling location on Election Day); 467 are marked for approval. Provisional ballots are not expected to lean heavily toward one party’s candidates.
There are also the military absentee ballots, which may add to the total come canvass day.
At a board of elections meeting Tuesday evening, Chair Derrick Miller said every valid ballot will be counted. He also addressed concerns about this year’s ballot-counting process.
According to information shared by the county, Elections Director Rae Hunter-Havens and her staff decided to institute an 'administrative cutoff' for mail-in ballots on October 31, leaving several days of ballots out of the Election Night totals — slated to be counted before the canvass on Friday, November 15, when vote totals are finalized. The decision was based on the increased demands on staff generated by new laws (including a new voter ID law), an increase in curb-side voting, and high voter turnout for the presidential election.
According to guidance sent to the media by the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE), with the request that it be disseminated to the public to help ensure accurate expectations about the timeline of vote counting, ”Ballots that will be counted and reported by the end of election night include … All absentee ballots received by the county boards of elections before the start of Election Day.”
Several, including commissioner Dane Scalise and County Manager Chris Coudriet, have suggested that the local elections' office decision violates state law. While it receives county funding, the local elections board is effectively part of the state system, apart from county government.
Asked about this, Miller said, “we believe we followed, to the best of our understanding, state board guidance.”
A spokesperson for the North Carolina State Board of Elections denied any guidance was given to local boards to support administrative cutoffs. Miller did not address the apparent contradiction.
Miller also addressed criticism — from the press and county officials — about a communication breakdown with the elections office. He said the lack of communication from Hunter-Havens was a result of his directive.
“I did say prioritize the necessary actions for canvass. So if there's been any lack of responsiveness from our staff or this board, then I believe the responsibility for that falls on me,” he said.
Communications issues aside, Miller and other board members were adamant there were no issues with the actual vote counting or chain of custody for ballots.
Miller put a motion before the board to say, "we affirm that our election staff are counting votes fairly and accurately, and we have observed the process closely and further, that we commend our election staff for their excellent work and
dedication." It passed unanimously.
Several public speakers, including New Hanover County Democratic Party Chair Jill Hopman, North Carolina NAACP President Deborah Dicks Maxwell, and former elections director Derek Bowens (currently director for Durham County's elections office), all spoke positively about Hunter-Havens and her team — and all advocated for additional funding for the elections office.
The county has adamantly insisted it has supported all funding requests from the state elections board. Over the last several years, it has maintained eight full-time positions; in the last budget cycle, the county increased wages and benefits, but cut funding for operating expenses by roughly 21% ($164,65) — reducing the elections office's overall budget by 5.3%. However, the county notes that based solely on recurring expenses (the 'adopted budget'), funding actually increased 4.5% this year.
The uncounted ballots are all set to be tallied on Thursday; the process is set to start at 2 p.m. and the results should be available to the public late that evening — likely after 10 p.m., according to elections director Rae Hunter Havens.
Then, at 11 a.m. Friday, the county elections board will vote to certify the election results.
Candidates who are within the recount range would then have until the end of the day on the following Monday, November 18, to file for a recount.
Editor's note: The article has been updated to add more information from Tuesday's meeting.
