Three North Carolina congressional races and seven races for state legislature could be headed for a recount. But even before a recount could be requested, vote tallies in close races could change in the coming days.
In North Carolina, candidates in close races can request a recount if they're trailing by less than 1% of total votes cast. Preliminary election night numbers show that's a possibility in the Congressional districts currently held by Republicans Virginia Foxx, Greg Murphy and David Rouzer.
Rouzer and Murphy hold narrow leads over their Democratic challengers in eastern North Carolina's 7th and 3rd congressional districts, while Foxx is trailing Democrat Chuck Hubbard by just 99 votes in the 5th district.
"This race is simply too close to call," Murphy's opponent, former state Rep. Raymond Smith, said on social media. "There are still votes to be counted, and every single one of those votes matters. So we're not declaring victory, and we're certainly not conceding defeat. We're allowing the democratic process to work, because every voter deserves to have their voice heard."
A recount is also a possibility in six state House races and one state Senate race. That race — where Sen. Danny Britt, R-Robeson, is ahead by less than 300 votes — could decide which party will control the Senate. If Britt's lead holds, Democrats will be one vote short in the Senate: Holding 24 seats while Republicans hold 26.
Candidates can't request recounts until after county election boards hold canvass meetings on the results. Those meetings are scheduled for Nov. 13. Before then, election officials will be adding provisional ballots and some mail-in ballots to the tallies. That could change who's in the lead in some close races.
"No election ends on Election Day, and results reported on election night are always unofficial," the State Board of Elections wrote in a memo to reporters. "This is by design — and by state and federal law — to ensure that final election results are accurate and that all ballots cast lawfully by eligible voters are counted. Post-election processes result in changes to the unofficial results announced on election night, with eligible ballots being added and ineligible ballots being removed from the vote totals."
Provisional ballots are cast by voters whose eligibility needs to be verified, such as voters who go to the wrong polling place or fail to bring a photo ID. Other ballots being reviewed and added after Election Day include military and overseas ballots — which must be received by 5 p.m. on Nov. 12 — and absentee mail-in ballots that had issues that needed to be "cured" by the voter.
In addition to the Robeson County Senate race and three congressional races, these state House races are still too close to call — although Democrats have already won a comfortable majority in that chamber even if they were to ultimately lose these districts:
District 9 (Pitt County): Democrat Claire Kempner leads Republican Rep. Tim Reeder by 175 votes.
District 20 (New Hanover County): Democrat Tim Merrick leads Republican Dane Scalise by 101 votes; the seat is currently held by retiring Republican Rep. Ted Davis.
District 51 (Lee County): Unaffiliated candidate April Montgomery leads Republican Charles Taylor by 382 votes. Democrats initially said Montgomery plans to join their caucus if she's elected, but they later retracted the claim. The seat is currently held by retiring Republican Rep. John Sauls.
District 62 (Guilford County): Democrat Shelly Headen leads Republican Rep. John Blust by 233 votes. Headen was rebuked by Democrats over social media posts in which she supported violence against Republicans.
District 63 (Alamance County): Democrat Ian Baltutis, the former mayor of Burlington, leads Republican Ryan Moffitt by 236 votes. The seat is currently held by retiring Republican Rep. Steve Ross.
District 93 (Ashe and Watauga counties): Democrat Charlie Wallin leads Republican Rep. Ray Pickett by 228 votes.
