Frantz wins Cary runoff

Cary's new 'instant runoff' procedure settles a close Town Council election

RALEIGH -- Don Frantz was declared the winner Tuesday from last week's hotly contested vote for the Cary Town Council, District B.

The Wake County Board of Elections voted Tuesday to certify the final results from the Oct. 9 election.

Frantz beat second-place finisher Vickie Maxwell by 76 votes in the regular vote, but he failed to win a 50-percent majority in the three-way race -- sending the contest to Cary's new and previously untried instant runoff voting process.

On the Oct. 9 ballot, Cary voters were asked to name a first, second and third choice for Town Council in their district. If a voter's preferred candidate finished third in the general election, then their second-choice vote would help decide the runoff.

Though the word "instant" implies the result would be immediately known, Wake County does not yet have the computer software needed to tabulate the new form of runoff election, which is being watched by observers for implementation statewide.

The elections' board oversaw a hand count of the District B ballots Thursday that gave Frantz a slim 28-vote lead over Maxwell. Because dozens of provisional ballots had yet to be verified, the narrow margin meant that Maxwell might still win.

But in an audit of the unofficial runoff results Friday, Wake County Elections Director Cherie Poucher found mistakes. A few votes for Frantz had been missed, while 24 one-stop-voting ballots had been improperly credited to Maxwell due to an error in arithmetic.

When the official results were certified Tuesday, Frantz topped Maxwell by a margin of 48 votes.

"I'm ecstatic it's finally over," Frantz, 36, said after his victory became official.

Frantz said one of his priorities will be to push for moving Cary's municipal election to the date of the general election in November -- a move he hopes will boost voter enthusiasm and turnout.

Though participation in Cary was higher than that in the county as a whole, less than 19 percent of registered voters in District B cast a ballot in last week's referendum.

"The whole reason we have the election in October is so that if there's the need for a runoff, that can be held in November," Frantz said. "If were going to have an instant runoff, then let's move the vote to November, when people are expecting an election."

Maxwell, a homemaker and community activist, attended the elections board meeting Tuesday. She said she accepts the final result.

"I just wanted to see it for myself," said Maxwell, 50, after the last ballots were tabulated and certified. "I accept it. I wish him all the best."

Bob Hall, research director for the nonpartisan Democracy North Carolina, said via e-mail Tuesday that despite the initial errors, the instant runoff should be used statewide to better ensure that those who vote in a general election get a say in the runoff, if one is needed.

"Rather than the sharp fall off [in participation] that often happens in separate runoff elections," Hall said, the voting method in Cary meant that those who voted Oct. 9 chose between the final candidates in the District B race, "and thereby decided the winner."