LUMBERTON — Robeson County election officials say they are moving as quickly as possible to determine a winner for the Precinct 7 seat on the Lumberton City Council, but have cautioned that the process to get the final results of the Nov. 3 election still has a way to go.
On Wednesday, the three-member Robeson County Board of Elections decided not to hear a protest filed by Laura Sampson alleging that a ballot that could at least tie her race with incumbent Councilman Leon Maynor is missing. While the board by a 2-1 vote ruled there was not enough evidence to show probable cause for Sampson’s allegations, the board did decide in another 2-1 vote that a hand-to-eye recount of all of the ballots cast in the election — including those cast at the polls, provisionals and absentees — will be held.
No date has yet been set for the recount, but according to Steve Stone, chairman of the Elections Board, a date for the recount should be set early this week, most likely on Monday.
“We want to do this as quickly as possible,” Stone said. “We need to determine a winner in this race before the State Board of Elections meets to certify races statewide, and I think they are meeting around Dec. 15. We don’t want to be the only county in the state that hasn’t certified our elections.”
Although a protest hearing before the local board was denied, Sampson still has the option to amend her protest and submit it to the local board again for consideration. According to Stone, she also has the option to appeal the local board’s decision not to hear the protest directly to the State Board of Elections.
Stone insists that a full hand-to-eye recount of all the voting districts in Precinct 7 is the way to resolve all of the issues surrounding the race that currently has Maynor leading by one vote, 282-281.
“All of the issues can be solved by a hand-to-eye recount,” Stone said. “What better way is there. If anyone knows, I would like them to tell me.”
Stone said the recount will be done by four people, probably experienced chief judges from other voting precincts. The candidates, or their representatives, will be able to directly observe the recount as it takes place, he said.
According to Stone, the three members of his board and elections board staff will only become involved when those counting the ballots determine a ballot is questionable and a decision has to be made about its legitimacy.
By state law, the local board of elections does not have to count every ballot in the race. A hand-to-eye recount only has to include a random sampling of ballots cast in 3 percent of the precinct’s voting districts
“I have never heard of a hand-to-eye recount like this being done for every ballot in any of our elections,” Stone said. “I asked the State Board for permission to do it this way and was told if I think it will resolve all of the issues, to go ahead.”
On Monday, beginning at 9 a.m., the board will move ahead with a protest that does have the potential to alter the outcome of the Pembroke mayoral election. The protest was filed by Greg Cummings, the second highest vote-getter in the four-way race.
According to G.L. Pridgen, the board’s director, the eligibility of 24 voters is being challenged. Most of the challenges concern whether the voters live at the addresses they gave, Pridgen said.
Initial results of the Nov. 3 election showed Cummings getting 190 votes, with former Pembroke Councilman Allen Dial winning the contest by seven. After provisional ballots were counted, Cummings picked up two votes, adding up to a total of 192, while Dial captured six more for a total of 203 and an 11-vote lead.
Cummings is also a former Pembroke councilman and currently works as the county’s economic developer.
