North Carolina: protest over "partial" provisional ballots
The Raleigh News & Observer reports: A candidate for a Wake District Court judgeship has asked the N.C. Board of Elections to throw out about 1,400 votes cast in the wrong precincts.
The request is similar to one filed by a candidate for superintendent of public instruction, but in this case officials say they already know it would not change the outcome of the race.
Under the final vote count turned in to the state by the Wake Board of Elections, District Court Judge Kris Bailey lost his bid for re-election to Raleigh lawyer Debra Sasser by 322 votes.
According to the Wake County Board of Elections, if the ballots were not counted, Sasser's lead would narrow to 194 votes. ...
At issue are ballots cast by voters who showed up at the wrong polling place on election day. Under state law, those voters can cast a provisional ballot, but only races they were eligible to vote for are counted.
In his protest, Bailey argued that counting the so-called "partial ballots" violates the residency requirements spelled out in Article VI, Section 2 of the state Constitution. -- newsobserver.com | Local & State