Close primaries in NC could result in recounts or runoffs. Here are the rules
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- County or State Board may order discretionary recounts; county can’t if state denies.
- Candidates can seek recounts if margins are under 1% locally or 0.5% statewide (or 10,000)
- NC law lets candidates demand runoffs when share of vote falls below thresholds.
As you wait to find out which candidates won their primary elections on Tuesday night, some races may not have final results as soon as others.
All returns are unofficial until counties certify votes, and some races could extend longer if there are recounts or runoffs.
North Carolina has rules about the share of votes needed to win a contest outright. In order to win a primary race and be guaranteed a spot on the general election ballot, candidates must reach a certain threshold. Otherwise, one of the other candidates can call for a runoff.
Recounts, meanwhile, are held if a race is extremely close.
When would there be a recount?
State law allows for two kinds of recounts.
Discretionary recounts are ordered by the county board or State Board of Elections if necessary in finalizing vote totals. But the county board cannot order a recount if the state board has already denied one.
If the race is close enough, candidates can ask for what is known as a mandatory recount. Some candidates in past close races have waited to concede races until after every single vote was tallied.
There are different rules for mandatory recounts depending on whether it’s being decided by voters statewide or just in one area.
- For races that are not statewide, candidates can demand a recount if the difference between two candidates’ votes is 1% or less of total votes cast.
- For races that are statewide, the threshold is either a 0.5% difference between candidates or 10,000 votes — whichever is fewer.
When would there be a runoff in NC?
There is a threshold for a runoff election, which is also called a second primary.
Candidates must win more than 30% of votes in their race to secure their party’s nomination for the general election and avoid a runoff. That means 30% of the total vote count plus one more vote.
Recounts and runoffs in 2024 primary
In 2024, then-incumbent state Rep. Michael Wray requested multiple recounts because the difference between his total and now-Rep. Rodney Pierce’s was less than 1%. Wray ultimately lost. Wray and Pierce are again running against each other in the 2026 Democratic primary for the same House seat.
Also in the 2024 North Carolina primary, there were multiple statewide runoff elections — for state auditor and lieutenant governor.
And a runoff for a Triangle-area seat in Congress that year went ahead even after one candidate dropped out.
