The Halifax County Board of Elections today dismissed the protests of four candidates in the March 5 primary, which include the protests of state Representative Michael Wray.

After the protests the board will move to Friday’s recount, which is scheduled at 10 a.m. in the board of commissioners room at the Historic Courthouse in Halifax.

Wray, who lost to challenger Rodney Pierce, had requested the recount in the three counties making up House District 27 — Halifax, Northampton, and Warren.

Two incumbent county school board members who lost in the primary and a candidate for the Halifax County Board of Commissioners District 1 seat, who lost against another challenger, also filed protests.

Reactions

“We’re very happy that the board considered this issue so carefully,” said Swain Wood, a partner in Morningstar Law Group, who is representing Pierce. “We’re confident in the outcome of the recount.”

Wood also confirmed that earlier today the Warren County Board of Elections dismissed Wray’s protest. Northampton dismissed his protest Monday.

Pierce this afternoon said, “I greatly appreciate the board’s careful consideration of these matters and am pleased that they agreed that Mr. Wray’s protests were meritless.I look forward to the recount to make sure every eligible voters’ vote is counted and I am confident that it will confirm the results of the initial count.”

Bruce Thompson, of Parker Poe, who is representing Wray, said, “We’re disappointed in the result but appreciate the board taking the time to hear our arguments. This is such a close election that we wanted to be sure every ballot was counted. We put what we thought was credible evidence out there to show there were a few that hadn’t been considered yet. The board makes its decision based on what’s in front of them and we look forward to the recount.”

An appeal will be something that Wray or any of the other candidates will have to make, Thompson said. “I don’t know at this time what we’ll be doing.”

Electioneering arguments

Wray’s protest included arguments made by the other three Halifax County candidates — incumbent school board members Tyus Few and James Mills — and Ophelia Gould-Faison, who lost to Jimmie Silver for the commissioner seat being vacated by Carolyn Johnson.

Their arguments centered around a person they described as a polling official at the Ringwood precinct who they alleged was electioneering on behalf of white sample ballot candidates which included Pierce and was telling voters that a blue ballot containing the names of those who filed the protest was illegal.

Few said he did not know if he would appeal and Gould-Faison declined to comment. Mills said he planned to appeal but declined to elaborate.

At least an irregularity

Melanie Dubis, of Parker Poe, referring to the electioneering allegation, told the board, “ … The goal of the board today is to determine whether there is probable cause to hear from these witnesses, in particular who could testify under oath on the basis of their own knowledge where the electioneering took place.”

She said she and Thompson believe the allegations demonstrate that if it was not a violation of election law that it was at least an irregularity where an observer is campaigning. “The allegation is that Mr. (Wendell) Hedgepeth was acting as an observer where he is inside the enclosure and also electioneering in the voting place, not in the enclosure necessarily but in the voting place such that voters who received a sample ballot from Mr. Hedgepeth outside, then they have also seen Mr. Hedgepeth inside the polling place which suggests some authority, some knowledge, some status that other people campaigning did not have. He was both electioneering and voters could see him inside the enclosure.”

Said Dubis: “As we allege we do believe that had an impact. We’ve noted that Representative Wray only received 20 votes in that precinct.”

There were 126 votes for Pierce in the Ringwood precinct. “That’s a margin of six to one,” Dubis said. “If you do that same analysis generally speaking of the other precincts, the margin was no more than three to one. It was dead even in one precinct. For today’s purposes of determining is there probable cause, is that sufficient to hear from the witnesses on the issue, this is a forecast of evidence.”

Wray’s campaign has retained a consulting expert, an accounting professor at North Carolina State who is prepared to do an analysis in greater detail and present that to the board to determine whether the Ringwood precinct stands out, she said.

‘No evidence anyone felt intimidated’

Wood told the board, “I believe that the latest counts district-wide have Mr. Pierce approximately 35 votes ahead. That’s important because one of the things that is at issue before the board is whether the allegations in the filing under the administrative code (show) evidence of an irregularity and whether it is sufficient to cast doubt on the results of the election.”

Wood said there has to be a showing of probable cause in the filing of an outcome of an irregularity. “We just don’t have that. As the board has concluded with respect to the other protests filed with respect to Mr. Hedgepeth, there’s no evidence in this filing that he was inside the enclosure or inside the voting area when he was electioneering. In fact there’s no evidence in this filing, other than just a mere allegation, that he actually was a registered poll observer. There’s no evidence that anyone felt intimidated. There’s no evidence that anyone felt they had to mark their ballot the way the white ballot said versus the way the blue ballot had said. There’s just no evidence of that in this filing.”

Wood noted that Wray’s filing showed the candidate was uncertain whether the outcome of the contest would change. “What the rules require is that you show there is probable cause to believe that the results of the contest would change and he’s not done that here.”

All allegations should have been provided or if any fact alleged is beyond the scope of the protestor’s personal knowledge they may attach affidavits from those who have personal knowledge, Wood said. “There’s no affidavits, there’s nothing from any witness. They certainly had the opportunity to do that as part of this filing … and that just has not been done. There really just is no basis for finding probable cause of an outcome (that determines) irregularity or violation of election law as to the electioneering claims and there’s not even, as the board has found … sufficient evidence to show that there was an irregularity regardless of whether it changed the outcome or not.”

Wray’s other contentions

As far as Wray’s contention of incorrect ballots, Wood said there is no evidence that the voters listed asked for a Democratic ballot. “The other districts where protests were filed had similar allegations. It turned out a registered Democrat had gone in and asked for a Republican ballot and they were told you have to cast a provisional because we show you as a registered Democrat. They cast a Republican ballot and it was not counted because they were a registered Democrat. That takes care of those three claims.”

As to provisional ballots, Wood said, “Mr. Pierce certainly wants everyone who’s a valid voter to have their vote counted. I don’t see that these allegations with respect to these four individuals establish that anything was done incorrectly … In light of the other issues there’s no chance that determined the outcome. We believe it would be erroneous for the board to do anything other than to dismiss the protests at this time.”