Outcome of NC governor race comes down to still uncounted ballots | News & Observer

The outcome of the contest for North Carolina governor hinges on the votes cast in more than 44,000 ballots, which could trigger a recount and push the weary campaigns toward the end of the month.

But it’s unknown how many of those ballots will be counted. More than half of provisional ballots voted in 2012 were deemed not eligible to count.

Democratic Attorney General Roy Cooper held a lead of 4,980 over Republican Gov. Pat McCrory in votes counted through Wednesday afternoon, not counting the tens of thousands of yet-uncounted votes from provisional ballots as well as from absentee ballots.

The N.C. Board of Elections hopes to know from county boards by Thursday how many provisional ballots were cast around the state and where. The provisionals could change the outcome of the election if a large number of them come from counties that are strongholds for either candidate, and are not offset by additional votes for their opponent.

Both sides have enlisted attorneys who specialize in election law to guide them through the painstakingly slow process of a recount.

Provisional ballots are not counted on Election Day. Voters can cast provisional ballots if there are questions about their eligibility or qualification to vote in a specific election cycle or on a specific type of ballot. Provisional ballots are held until the questions can be resolved and reported to the county elections board, whose members make a final determination. County boards are scheduled to certify the results on Nov. 18.

By the end of the day Wednesday, 69 counties had reported receiving 44,400 provisional ballots.

In the 2012 gubernatorial race between McCrory and then-Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton, more than 22,000 provisional ballots were counted, and they favored Dalton by 1,700 votes. Democrats have traditionally voted by provisional ballot more than Republicans.

On Wednesday, Wake County reported unofficially nearly 7,000 provisional ballots submitted and more than 2,000 absentee ballots to be counted. Mecklenburg County reported unofficially more than 3,600 provisional ballots submitted and 1,200 absentee ballots to be counted.

The runner-up in a statewide race can ask for a recount if the final count separates the two candidates by fewer than 10,000 votes.

While Cooper claimed victory early Wednesday, McCrory vowed to make sure every vote was counted. McCrory’s campaign raised questions about 90,000 ballots that weren’t counted until late on Election Night in Durham County, which put Cooper in the lead. The McCrory campaign said it had “grave concerns over potential irregularities” in Durham.

McCrory strategist Chris LaCivita said Cooper celebrated too early.

“The votes have been cast in the gubernatorial election, but many have yet to be counted,” LaCivita said in a statement. “Currently, there are tens of thousands of outstanding absentee, military and provisional ballots across the state, and claiming an outcome before the process has concluded is irresponsible and disrespectful to the voters of North Carolina whose voices have yet to be heard.”

A Cooper campaign spokesman, Ford Porter, issued a statement Wednesday afternoon.

“Last night, the people of North Carolina chose a new Governor with new priorities,” Porter said. “With all precincts reporting, we have a strong lead and are confident that once the results are certified, we will confirm last night’s victory. In the coming weeks, Governor-elect Cooper will be laying out an agenda for moving North Carolina forward.”