The canvass, which finalizes vote totals, was allowed to proceed after Scalise’s election protest received a preliminary hearing.
Early in the meeting, Caleb Rush, a Wilmington attorney representing Scalise’s protest, addressed the board. Rush thanked elections officials for their work, but said the protest was based on the clear violation of state law.
“I will say, county board, county staff, state board, state staff, wherever the problem was, I think it needs to be corrected so that this never happens again,” Rash said.
At issue were nearly 2,000 absentee ballots that were not included in the totals released on Election night — the vast majority of which arrived prior to Election Day. New Hanover County Elections Director Rae Hunter-Havens and her staff made an administrative decision to hold back ballots received after October 31 in order to help manage the demands of high turnout, increased curbside voting, and new elections laws.
The decision runs contrary to a 2023 state law, and the state board’s media guidance on what to expect on Election night. According to state statute, all absentee ballots received prior to election day must be counted on election day, not after.
Paul Cox, the general counsel for the North Carolina State Board of Elections (SBE) stopped short of saying Hunter-Havens and her team broke the law, but he said they should have counted the ballots and released totals on Tuesday, November 5.
Based on this, Scalise filed an election protest on Tuesday, asking that a representative of his campaign be able to inspect uncounted ballots — and that those ballots be counted immediately.
Before the board considered the protest, Republican board member Bruce Kemp asked for a brief break; he then appeared to meet and speak with Rush, Scalise’s representative, in a separate room away from the rest of the board.
Board Chair Derrick Miller, a Democrat, appeared somewhat incredulous while the board was at ease, “board members consulting with protestors? Is that what just happened? Is there…[can] anyone comment on that?”
After the board returned to order, and Kemp retook his seat, Miller followed up: “Who did you just confer with while we were at ease,” Miller asked Kemp. “ And what was discussed?”
After a long pause, Kemp responded, “Thank you for the opportunity to share, but I decline.”
“Was it a conference with someone who represents the protest,” Miller asked. “Does this represent a conflict of interest?
Kemp didn’t respond. Democratic board member Natalie Hinton-Stalling said, “just from a layperson's perspective, it appears that's something that we should not be doing, we should remain separate from that.”
Cox, the NCSBE general counsel who was attending the meeting, gave a brief overview of conflict of interest regulations, which essentially included having a stake in the outcome of the election.
Kemp has politically supported Scalise, donating roughly $2,700 to his campaign. It was not made clear during the meeting if that constitutes a personal stake in the outcome and Kemp did not respond to questions sent by WHQR about it. However, based on North Carolina law (NC § 163‑39), state and local elections board members are allowed to make campaign donations. And, based on guidance provided for county commissioners and city council members, elections board members likely have a 'duty to vote,' that outweighs minor financial issues. That guidance considers the extent of the interest. It seems likely that a campaign donation, which is not an investment that could produce a direct financial return, would not excuse a voting member.
Board member James ‘Jim’ Battle Morgan, one of the board’s three Democratic members, made the motion to dismiss Scalise’s protest, primarily because it failed to make an allegation that would cast doubt on the outcome of the election.
Kemp asked that the vote totals, including ballots that had been challenged, should be known before the board considered the protest. Miller reiterated that since the protest didn’t challenge the accuracy of the count, that wasn’t germane.
The board then voted to dismiss the protest, with Democratic members Miller, Morgan, and Natalie Hinton-Stalling in favor. Republicans Kemp and Tom Morris voted against dismissing the protest. (Note: Local elections boards are made up of five members — two Republicans and two Democrats appointed by NCSBE, and a chair appointed by the Governor.)
The board then turned to the canvass process itself, which did not significantly change the results from late last night — which changed the ranking of some races but not the outcome.
Incumbent Republican Chair Bill Rivenbark, Democratic challenger Stephanie Walker, and Scalise won the three seats.
Several candidates remain within recount range, including longtime incumbent Democrat Jonathan Barfield, Jr., who trails Scalise in fourth place for three seats on the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners by 232 votes. In the school board race, Democrats Judy Justice and Tim Merrick, and Republican David Perry are the winners; in fourth place Democratic challenger Jerry Jones, Jr. and fifth-place Republican challenger Nikki Bascome are both within the recount range, although Bascome is at the far end of it.
