Wayne board to hold manual recount of state House race
The Associated Press
November 10, 2002 11:36 pm
Posted on 11/11/2002 5:56:43 AM PST by Constitution Day
The Associated Press
Wayne board to hold manual recount of state House race
November 10, 2002 11:36 pm
GOLDSBORO, N.C. -- The Wayne County Board of Elections has ordered a manual recount of the race that could determine which party will control the state House.
The GOP gained the advantage in the House on Friday when updated vote totals from Wayne County showed Majority Leader Phil Baddour trailing Mount Olive Mayor Louis Pate Jr. by 164 votes in District 11.
The House had appeared to be split 60-60 for the next legislative session. But Republicans would have a 61-59 advantage if Pate and leading candidates in three other close races win.
Returns after Tuesday's election showed Baddour defeating Pate by 896 votes, but voting machines that didn't count straight-ticket ballots meant several thousand additional votes were added to both candidates.
The manual recount is scheduled for Thursday. The Elections Board will meet again at 5 p.m. Tuesday to determine the process for the recount.
The Pate-Baddour race may not be the only one the county Elections Board recounts. State elections officials advised the county board to check every race.
"They felt we shouldn't be cherry-picking any races," county elections Chairman Geoff Hulse said. So far, though, only the Baddour-Pate race was changed by the recount.
Board member Joe Daughtery suggested the recount also include the state Senate's 7th District race between state Sen. John Kerr, a Democrat, and state Rep. Carolyn Russell, a Republican. The vote totals of most Republicans increased when the straight-party voting was added in, but Kerr increased his margin over Russell.
A manual count "will lift the cloud, once and for all, over these two races," Daughtery said.
The board agreed to choose four precincts that included the Senate's 7th District.
Baddour and Pate have a history of hard-fought and close political battles. Baddour won election to the House in 1992. In 1994, Pate defeated him. In 1996, Baddour won his seat back. Pate challenged again and lost. Pate took a break from state politics in 2000. He later won the Mount Olive mayor's seat, a position he held before he won election to the state House in 1994.
"Our community is so obviously divided by this," Hulse said. "It's so emotional and so very close that we need to be as accurate as possible."
URL for this article: http://www.heraldsun.com/state/6-286926.html
© Copyright 2002. All rights reserved. All material on heraldsun.com is copyrighted by The Durham Herald Company and may not be reproduced or redistributed in any medium except as provided in the site's Terms of Use.
A special thanks to all of the NC FReepers that joined us at Tir na nÓg Irish Pub in Raleigh on election night. The following FReepers attended:
Thank you Old North State FReepers! CD
My apologies if I missed anyone.
All of us had a great time watching the election returns on Fox News, eating, enjoying refreshing beverages and, of course, talking about politics.
A few of us stayed at the bar, watching returns until after midnight!
Some of us also called into Radio FR's UNSPUN "Election Night Special" and gave field reports to AnnaZ and Mercuria. That was a blast! Thanks, y'all.
I'm happy we were all able to be together as HISTORY WAS MADE!
Thanks,
CD
Please FRmail me if you want to be added to or removed from this North Carolina ping list.
CD
CD
I think (hope) that last Tuesday's election was a harbinger of things to come.
Now to work on Easley and Basnight!
CD
PS - On an unrelated note, I saw the edwards04.com link on your profile page.
If that's your site, you may be interested in the Edwards Watch article link on my profile page.
Please stay in touch about organizing for the 2004 races.
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
Add me please.
Constitution Day
Rocky Mount
This is a matter of some importance, as we know all too well...
Will do! - CD
I haven't been able to find out any info. about it.
If I do, I will be sure to post it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.