Contentious North Carolina Gubernatorial Race Headed for December Finish

McCrory said he had to make the request by Tuesday’s deadline, even though a statewide recount can not take place until all 100 counties finish reviewing their results of the November 8 election in a process called a voter canvass.

But McCrory hasn’t given up – his team lodged ballot challenges in 50 of North Carolina’s 100 counties, in some cases alleging votes were fraudulently cast by dead people and convicted felons.

A spokesperson for Cooper released a statement Tuesday saying that lead has now grown to 8,569 votes and the campaign is asking McCrory to concede North Carolina’s governor’s race.

The State Board of Elections voted Sunday to take jurisdiction over investigations into absentee voting irregularities in Bladen County, but not total jurisdiction over every complaint lodged. Eudy is founder of Raleigh strategic communications firm Capstrat.

The state board of elections issued additional guidance to counties over the weekend about how and which provisional ballots to count from voters who may have registered at the DMV but did not appear on the voter rolls.

According to the votes, North Carolina’s Attorney General Roy Cooper should be the state’s next governor.

“The fact that so many Republicans won in the state, and there are others who didn’t follow that pattern, I understand why people would want that looked into”, William Brian, chairman of the Durham County Board of Elections, said. If the margin remains under 10,000, McCrory is allowed to request a statewide recount, but more counting of votes has only increased Cooper’s lead this far.

Later Tuesday, McCrory’s campaign said it filed for a recount. The lawsuit was filed in federal court, while a federal court ruling from this summer reinstated same-day registration in North Carolina.

The gubernatorial race in the ninth largest USA state remained undecided two weeks after Election Day. Those ended up being hand-counted on Election Night because of the problems with the machines in those precincts – one reason Dunham County results came in so late.

“There is no path to victory for Gov. McCrory”, the statement said. Pat McCrory began the process of requesting a recount.

‘McCrory needs to be a statesman and do what the voters wanted and concede this race’. North Carolina law allows the state legislature to step in and make the final call on “contested elections” – essentially allowing lawmakers to decide which candidate got the most votes.

Then-N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper speaks during a news conference in Raleigh, N.C., Wednesday, April 11, 2007. Cooper himself has begun assembling a transition team, and has launched a website for people interested in working for his administration, prompting Republicans to accuse him of circumventing the electoral process.