NEW HANOVER COUNTY — New Hanover County leadership is on the books for a meeting with state board of elections staff — though not until after Thanksgiving — to address concerns over thousands of uncounted ballots holding up official election results in two county races.
READ MORE: NHC commissioner, school board races hinge on 3,400 uncounted ballots, candidates talk results
Originally, it was expected there were 1,500 absentee ballots to be counted post-Election Day, according to the county. That has since ticked up to 1,750.
County manager Chris Coudriet wrote to commissioners Friday morning the initial number was a rough estimate, only based on “visual inspection” of assessing ballots accumulated in secured intake bins. The actual amount of ballots to be processed have since been verified.
“I cannot explain to you how that estimated number has come to be, and I cannot say if it is likely to change by some order of magnitude higher or lower and, if, or when it might change. We have asked that, among a few other questions, but no response as of yet,” he wrote.
As well, he told commissioners some ballots fail to meet statutory requirements and likely won’t be recommended for approval.
The now 3,672 uncounted ballots, between absentee and provisional, could be consequential for the county commissioner and school board races. Only 249 ballots separate third and fourth places among commissioner candidates, while 622 ballots separate the school board’s top contenders.
In a statement released Wednesday, New Hanover County Elections Director Rae Hunter-Havens said the remaining ballots would be counted on Nov. 14, the day before the election canvass. Candidates would then have until the following Monday to submit a recount request if eligible.
But Coudriet took issue with outstanding absentee ballots received from Friday, Nov. 1, through Election Day not being counted in a more timely manner; they were not included in the early voting numbers calculated on Election Day. He was concerned the delay in tabulation went against state statute, which indicates any absentee ballot received before Election Day should be counted on Election Day.
Absentee ballots received on Election Day are to be counted during the 10-day canvassing period, which is part of the certification process before official approval of votes take place on Nov. 15.
Coudriet wrote commissioners Wednesday afternoon he was receiving “dribs and drabs” of information “to great frustration.”
“As we understand it, the local Board of Elections was not involved in the decision to set the administrative cutoff as October 31 and, as of this afternoon, was not aware of how many ballots remained for approval and counting,” Coudriet said.
Port City Daily asked staff at the state board of elections if it had a meeting or if the board took a vote to allow the administrative cutoff for absentee ballots received after Oct. 31 to be excluded from the election-night count.
“There was no State Board of Elections meeting to discuss this,” spokesperson Patrick Gannon wrote in an email, “nor would there be to discuss a county-level administrative issue like this.”
When asked if there was any communication between the state and county boards about the cutoff at all, he followed up with “no further comment.”
In a memo sent Friday, NHC BOE director Hunter-Havens said counting absentee and provisional ballots after election day is “standard protocol” and “standard procedure.” She ensured all ballots would be counted.
Hunter-Havens listed in a memo to county staff Friday that the volume of ballots and multiple verification procedures now in place, many due to photo IDs, mandated the move to count ballots received after Oct. 31 after Election Day. Staff are required to physically check in ballots, enter date to establish voter history and review submitted photo IDs to meet statutory requirements. Then there is an organization process to verify ballots with precincts.
The state board of elections clarified in a press release on Nov. 4 that the night’s results will vary when adding supplemental absentee and provisional ballots to the count, based on when each county holds meetings to consider these ballots.
Coudriet wrote to commissioners he and the county attorney confirmed “the administrative cutoff decision for the absentee ballots is in conflict with the state statute. I take that to mean the ballots received at least Friday, Saturday, and Monday should have been processed and counted. I have no clue what this means practically, but I know it looks bad, wrong, and plenty of other descriptors. The other item of concern I’m being told is this is how we’ve always done it, i.e., an administrative cutoff. I cannot reconcile the statement we did this at the guidance of the state board when the state law says otherwise.”
Coudriet asked Hunter-Havens if there was an opportunity to move up the count from Nov. 14 to Nov. 12, during the county board of elections’ meeting. However, the law requires an earlier date to have been suggested two weeks prior to the election.
The board of elections selected Nov. 14 based on historical precedent of counting absentee and provisional ballots the day before canvassing, Coudriet wrote in an email to commissioners.
The county manager also took issue with candidates not being kept abreast of the situation via the local board of elections director. However, in a different email he learned it wasn’t protocol for a director of an elections board to have direct communication with candidates, nor to have access to emails, phone numbers, and the like.
On Friday, Nov. 8, Coudriet asked for a meeting with the state board of elections regarding lingering questions among officials. Intergovernmental affairs manager Tim Buckland reached out to Gannon to inquire about Coudriet, county attorney Jordan Smith and state board director Karen Brinson-Bell, as well as other elections staff gathering virtually to discuss further.
“Preferably, we would appreciate having this call today given the urgency of this matter,” Buckland wrote.
Gannon responded he sent the request to Brinson-Bell and NCSBE general counsel.
“But quite honestly, this has gotten ridiculous,” Gannon added. “There are always, in every election, absentee and provisional ballots to count after elections, and with close contests, there is always the possibility that the result will change. This is going on in multiple counties right now — and possibly even statewide.”
It was determined that staff would be able to answer the county’s questions after Thanksgiving, Nov. 28.
“I’m disappointed about this outcome, in light of where we stand locally with uncounted absentee ballot questions,” Coudriet informed commissioners.
The New Hanover County State Board of Elections has meetings set next week on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday; click here to learn more about how to attend or tune in.
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