ELIZABETHTOWN — The four votes difference didn’t change in Friday’s recount for the District 3 seat of the Bladen County commissioners.
Democratic incumbent Russell Priest triumphed over Republican Wayne Edge 676-672, same as the May 14 special election unofficial results.
The Bladen County Board of Elections, to include chairwoman Louella Thompson, Patsy Sheppard, Deborah Belle and Emery White, made if official with signatures just after 4 p.m. capping a lengthy day that began at 11 a.m. with the canvass of the District 3 race, the race for two supervisor seats on the Bladen County Soil & Water Conservation District board, and the Republican primary for the Ninth Congressional District.
“I’m glad it’s over,” the 72-year-old Priest said Friday evening. “I really am. You can understand why. Too many families involved in that thing, and everybody wants to win. I’m glad it worked out.
“I didn’t expect it to be that close. I was happy.”
Priest’s four-year term runs through 2022.
The special election was necessary when the state Board of Elections refused to certify the race for the U.S. House seat on Nov. 6 between Republican Rev. Mark Harris and Democrat Dan McCready, and the two Bladen County races. Investigations, one led by the Wake County district attorney and another by the state Board of Elections, led to criminal charges in a ballot harvesting scheme that named Bladenboro’s McCrae Dowless as the ring leader.
The state election board held an evidentiary hearing in February, in which Harris from the stand on the fourth day admitted he felt there needed to be a new election. He did not run in the primary, which was won by state Sen. Dan Bishop.
The canvass confirmed election victories for Earl Storms and Charles Wendell Gillespie for the Soil & Water board.
Edge was represented by family members at the recount while Priest came to watch for himself. He later left and his daughter came to observe.
“All I can say is congratulations to Russell,” Edge said Friday evening. “The people have spoken, they want Russell in there.”
There is a final avenue through a protest, which must be filed within 24 hours.
“I don’t see where I need to file a protest,” Edge said. “There’s nothing I can do.”
When the special election was scheduled, it created the unusual circumstance in Bladen County of having a Republican primary at the same time as two general elections. One of those two was nonpartisan, the other matching a Democrat against a Republican.
But Priest had enough Democrats did turn out, by the slimmest of margins. Edge said he knew of Democrats that would vote for him, but who told him they thought the commissioner race was a primary as well, for Republicans, and they weren’t able to vote. That wasn’t the case.
“I know people that told me they couldn’t vote because it was a primary and they were Democrats,” Edge said. “I tried to contact everybody I knew, and they didn’t take heed to it.
“I texted everybody in my cellphone. It was somewhere around 425, reminded them it was general election, and they still didn’t show up.”
Election material was clear that the primary was for the U.S. House seat and the Bladen races were general elections. The Bladen Journal was also specific to the differences in stories over two-plus months.
The process for the recount, as required by state law, involved two-person teams at tabulators — one a Democrat, one a Republican. Staff from the state board were in attendance.
The mood was congenial through the tedious process of feeding each ballot into the tabulator. District 3 involves eight precincts. There were no changes to votes totals in any of the precincts, the absentee totals or the one-stop. No provisionals were involved in the District 3 race.
Earlier, the board needed just 15 minutes to voice and sign approval to the canvass. The meeting carried on past the noon hour with discussion on voter intimidation problems, and what could be done.
Allen Johnson, lawyer for the county, shared with the board a packet of information on state laws. The board had asked him for the information at its last meeting.
The board was in agreement to be more proactive to curb activities that, they said, have left county citizens with little to no faith in the process.
Valeria McKoy, the interim director for the county, said a meeting is planned July 18 at Bladen Community College that will give voters information about the new voter ID law. The board is considering adding on some information with regard to voter intimidation laws.
There will be two sessions on July 18, one at 10 a.m. and another at 6 p.m.
State board representatives would likely attend the community meeting at the college, said Veronica DeGraffenreid, a member of the state staff who has been regularly attending the board meetings.
Johnson also recommended the board meet with the assistant district attorney and law enforcement ahead of the fall election. That effort would be to make sure all understand the laws, in particular the buffer zone at polling places, and possible courses of action should situations escalate. The board and Johnson said voters should not have worries when they go to cast a vote, such as being heckled or approached in an off-limits zone.
The Bladen County Board of Elections canvassed the votes of the May 14 special election on Friday morning. Louella Thompson, Patsy Sheppard, Emery White and Deborah Belle (from left to right) needed only about 15 minutes to approve the report. They later presided over a recount for the District 3 commissioner seat.