South Ward candidate Carolyn HighsmUh tries to figure out if she won the tight South Ward race during
the Board of Elections Canvas meeting on Thursday. '
Photos by Tbdd Luck
South Ward candidates Carolyn Highsmith and
John Larson shake after the BOE's official results
showed Highsmith winning by six votes.
Vivian H. Burke 64.56% (2,707 votes)
Keith King 35.44% (1,486 votes)
Narrow South Ward win leads to
recount; June primary rules set
Candidates say
tight race shows
flaws in the
system
BY TODD LUCK
TwrminwriF
"Does that mean I
won?" asked Carolyn
Highsmith after the Board
of Elections approved the
official results of the pri
mary election.
Indeed, after hours of
waiting for provisional bal
lots to be tabulated during
the BOE meeting on
Thursday, March 24, it did
turn out that Highsmith
pulled off an extremely
narrow victory over her
opponent, John Larson, in
the Democratic primary for
the South Ward City
Council seat. The final
numbers were Highsmith,
with 2,029 votes to
Larson's 2,023 votes.
Larson shook Highsmith's
hand congratulating her,
but the victory is still
potentially tentative. Since
the six-vote victory is less
than one percent, Larson
applied for a recount on
Monday, which the BOE is
expected to be complete
this week.
"We will make sure that
all due diligence is spent to
ensure that the proper votes
are counted," said Larson.
Highsmith said she
considers herself the win
ner and was thankful for all
her supporters in the South
Ward.
"We had a lot of people
in the South Ward who
wanted to see me win
because they know what I
represent, they know I'm
going to represent the
South Ward to the very best
of my ability," she said.
But Highsmith also
said she supported the
recount. Both candidates
patiently sat through the
canvas process on Tuesday
and Thursday of last week,
watching the board
approve and disapprove
votes. After the canvas,
both agreed that they had
questions and concerns
about the process they wit
nessed. Highsmith said
that there were residents
who cast ballots that
weren't counted and it was
unknown who would've
gotten those votes had they
been accepted.
"It's a very flawed sys
tem right now and we've
QMffAIGfT
got to clean it up," she said.
OnTbesday, 101 absen
tee ballots that came in the
day after election day were
discounted because they
didn't have a postmark,
which statute requires. On
Thursday, of the 961 provi
sional ballots that were
considered, 592 were
rejected.
Voter ID was a small
portion of provisionals,
with all nine reasonable
impediment provisionals
accepted. Only 39 provi
sionals were rejected
because voters cast their
ballot without an ID and
failed to produce an ID to
the BOE afterwards.
Other provisional rejec
tions included 151 out-of
precinct votes that had no
signature, 157 ballots by
people who weren't regis
tered to vote and 194 bal
lots by people who weren't
registered to vote but also
didn't provide a signature.
Statute requires a signature
on provisional ballots and
poll workers were trained
to get voter signatures even
when the signature line
didn't print out, whichv
BOE Director Tim Tsujii
said happened numerous
times. Tsujii said his office
will be examining the soft
ware that produced the bal
lots. Tsujii will also be
offering his full review of
election performance and
recommendations for
improvements in the next
BOE meeting in April.
During the comment
period on Thursday,
Larson's supporters
lamented the lack of park
ing at one precinct in the
South Ward and that sever
al voters didn't have the
South Ward race on their
ballot. Tsujii said the BOE
found there were 18 people
who were given the wrong
party ballot in the South
Ward.
Larson compared the
canvas process to watching
sausage being made.
"I think there are real
questions about people
being disenfranchised and
if it hadn't been for the
closeness of this election, it
would have just been
buried under the carpet,"
said Larson.
The victor of the South
Ward primary will face
Republican Michael "fyler
in November.
Also during the meet
ing, the board approved
Early Voting plans for the
June 7 primary, which will
feature races for the U.S.
House of Representatives
and one seat on the N.C.
Supreme Court. Early vot
ing will be at the BOE
offices in the Forsyth
County Government
Building on Thursday, May
26, Friday, May 27 and
Tuesday, May 31 through
Friday, June 3 from S a.m.
5 p.m and Saturday, June 4,
from 10 a.m.-l.pm. Many
have filed to run in the sec
ond primary, with the new
District 13, which stretches
from Guilford into Davie
and Iredell Counties, hav
ing the most challengers
with 22 candidates. Alma
Adams is running for
reelection in the 12th
District, which is now
entirely in Mecklenburg
County. Her Democratic
primary challengers are .
Gardenia Henley of
Winston-Salem, Rick
Miller of Summerfield, for
mer state senator Malcolm
Graham and state lawmak
ers Rodney Moore, TriCia
Cotham and Carla
Cunningham. Republicans
vying for the seat are Leon
Threatt, Paul Wright and
Ryan Duffie.
Locally, for the Fifth
District, Virginia Foxx will
face Pattie Curran and B.
Mark Walker in the
Republican primary.
Democrats Jim Roberts,
Charlie Wallin, and Josh
Brannon, who Foxx defeat
ed in 2014, are also run
ning for the seat. N.C.
Justice Robert Edmunds is
facing Daniel Robertson,
Michael Morgan and Sabra
Faires in the judicial pri
mary.
Redisricting creates interesting
congressional primaries
BY JONATHAN DREW AND
GARY D. ROBERTSON
ASSOCIATED PRESS
RALEIGH ? Changes
wrought by this year's
redistricting will make for
unusually crowded fields in
several North Carolina
congressional districts dur
ing rescheduled primary
elections - including one
where two incumbents will
face off.
North Carolina law
makers were forced last
month to hastily redraw the
map of congressional dis
tricts after a federal court
ruled that two were unlaw
fully race-based.
Legislators also delayed
primaries for U.S. House
candidates until June 7,
separating them from other
contests held earlier this
month.
Below is a look at the
races, along with the fac
tors influencing them:
New rules
The primary field took
shape with last Friday's fil
ing deadline, which attract
ed 76 candidates covering
all 13 districts.
A one-time change in
the law allows candidates
to nin in the congressional
primary while also seeking
y ;
another elected position
this year. They would nor
mally be barred from run
ning for two elected posi
tions. A congressional pri
mary winner already on the
November ballot for anoth
er position now will have
to choose to run in one or
the other.
/ There will also be no
primary runoffs this year,
meaning a candidate in a
crowded race could win
with far less than half the
votes.
"It is a great year to
watch current members of
the General Assembly test
the waters for a higher seat
with really little risk," said
David McLennan, a visit
ing professor of political
science at Meredith
College.
Another layer of uncer
tainty is added by ongoing
litigation that could change
the districts again before
the election.
Jostling Democrats
When lawmakers cor
ralled the 12th District
within Mecklenburg
County, it made the left
leaning territory attractive
to a number of Democrats.
U.S. Rep. Alma Adams
of Greensboro has said
she's planning to move to
Charlotte to stay in the
12th, which previously
snaked along Interstate 85
from Greensboro to
Charlotte.
Also vying for the
Democratic nomination are
three members of the state
f
House with ties to the area:
Tricia Cotham, Carla
Cunningham and Rodney
Moore. The other
Democrats are Malcolm
Graham - a former state
senator from Charlotte who
ran in 2014; Gardenia
Henley and Rick Miller.
Bitzer said incumbents
generally have an advan
tage, but Adams is facing
opponents with strong
Mecklenburg County ties.
The Mecklenburg vote
could splinter, allowing
someone to win with 20 to
30 percent of the vote,
Bitzer said.
Attracting a crowd
The new Republican
leaning 13th District shares
the name of Holding's cur
rent district, but its bound
aries shifted to a complete
ly different geographic area
to the west.
That's attracted a whop
ping 17 Republican candi
dates, including four state
legislators: Sen. Andrew C.
Brock and Reps. Julia
Howard, Harry Warren and
John Blust.
"It's going to be a com
petitive battle simply
because somebody could
win with maybe 30 percent
of the vote, and there's no
runoff primary," Michael
Bitzer, a professor of poli
tics and history at Catawba
College, said even before
seven OOP additional can
didates filed Friday.
There also are five
Democrats running.
i
People who filed
for 5th District
congressional seat:
Pattle Curran, Republican,
Kemersville
Incumbent Virginia Foxx,
Republican, Banner Elk
Charlie Wallln, Democrat,
Boone
Jim Roberts, Democrat,
Pilot Mountain
Joah Brannon, Democrat,
Vilas
ELljsb^
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