The North Carolina State Board of Elections voted 3-2 on Wednesday for a machine recount in Durham County to help conclude the tight gubernatorial race between Gov. Pat McCrory and Democratic challenger Roy Cooper. The latter is ahead by just 10,000 votes.
McCrory’s campaign filed a recount request last week, demanding the state investigate the string of voting inaccuracies in Durham, including potential voter fraud and electronic glitches that caused election officials to have to report early ballot votes late.
While Cooper’s campaign dismissed the recount effort as a waste of time, McCrory’s campaign is pleased with the decision.
“We are pleased that the State Board of Elections has recognized the voting irregularities in Durham County and we will respect whatever the results show,” said Pat McCrory campaign manager Russell Peck in a statement on Thursday. “We ask that this is done immediately.”
The recount will take about eight hours, according to officials, so we should have a winner fairly soon.