North Carolina: a new election for agriculture commissioner
The News-Record reports: The State Board of Elections voted Wednesday morning to hold a statewide special election for the disputed Commissioner of Agriculture race.
The board's three Democrats overruled the two Republicans in ordering the larger revote, but there are questions as to whether the order will stand up to a legal challenge promised by Republicans. The board's rules typically require four votes to order a new election.
The revote comes after Browns' Summit Republican Steve Troxler led Democrat Britt Cobb by 2,342 votes in a race that saw more than 3 million votes cast during the general election on Nov. 3. But Carteret County voting machines lost more than 4,400 ballots cast electronically during early voting. Because those votes could affect the outcome, state election officials needed to find some way to fix the snafu.
The State Board of Elections voted last month to resolve the problem by ordering a special election in Carteret County. But a judge later reversed that decision and ordered the state board to find a different resolution. -- Statewide revote ordered for Agriculture race