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Home > Political notes > Archives > 2008 > November > 05 > Entry

Absentee vote counting delayed final results in Pitt

By Ginger Livingston | Wednesday, November 5, 2008, 01:12 PM

The outcome of many contested general election races remained uncertain until late Tuesday because of vote counting in Pitt County.

Officials were busy opening and counting more than 2,300 mail-in absentee ballots from 2-10:30 p.m., Elections Director Dave Davis said.

The process delayed the input of those votes and about 50,000 One Stop early voting ballot records into a computer system that tabulated them with voting that took place on Tuesday.

“We had all three (elections) board members, two full-time staff and two part-time staff opening up envelopes and straightening (the ballots) out,” Davis said.

Because the ballots are folded to fit into the return envelopes, some papers had to be inserted numerous times into scanners that recorded the ballots.

A total of 51,032 people, nearly 67 percent of Pitt County’s registered voters, voted absentee or cast ballots during the three-week One Stop early voting period, according to preliminary election data. Just under 30 percent of the votes were cast on Tuesday.

As a result, races for Pitt County Board of Commissioners and state House and Senate remained uncertain until those totals were entered about 11 p.m.

In the Board of Commissioners District B race, Democratic challenger Ephraigm Smith led Republican Tom Coulson in ballots cast Tuesday. He won by 312 votes once all ballots were counted.

In the state Senate District 5 race, Republican Louis M. Pate Jr. led in Pitt County votes cast on Election Day, but Democrat Don Davis won in Greene and Wayne counties, which also make up the district.

When Pitt County’s early voting results were released, Davis won Pitt County by a narrow margin.

Statewide contests, including races for governor, lieutenant governor and president, each had margins of fewer than 30,000 votes at 11 p.m., with most North Carolina counties reporting all their votes.

Pitt County voting totals, dominated by Democratic balloting, helped Democrats Beverly Perdue, Walter Dalton and Barack Obama widen margins in those races.

The Pitt County Board of Elections has a practice of counting the mail-in absentee ballots prior to entering those totals and the One Stop records into the state system, Davis said.

Davis said Tuesday officials were caught off guard by the large number of paper ballots. They have been able to count them quickly in the past. No discussion had taken place about altering the practice of counting them before loading the computerized One Stop records, he said.

Compared to the 2004 presential election — when long lines delayed the release of some results until nearly 3 a.m. — Tuesday’s count went smoothly, Davis said.

“For a presidential election, for us to be done before 11 p.m., I think we have performed admirably, the board and the staff,” he said.

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