On Friday, March 15, the Alexander County Board of Elections voted 5-0 to canvass the votes cast in all ballot items within the jurisdiction of the county board and authenticate the county at the county level.
Results on election night are unofficial. Canvass is the official process of determining that the votes have been counted and tabulated correctly, resulting in the authentication of the official election results. In every county, the canvass meeting is 10 days after election day.
During the time between election day and county canvass, election officials count absentee ballots that came in before the deadline and research provisional ballots to determine whether they should be counted.
The Alexander County Board of Elections voted unanimously to count 11 absentee-by-mail ballots that were received by the deadline of 7:30 p.m. on election day. Out of the 27 provisional ballots that were cast, the board approved to count eight (8) of those, with 19 provisional ballots not approved. These eligible ballots were added to the vote total, which increased the total ballots cast from 7,282 to 7,301.
At the meeting, the board prepared and signed all relevant, permanent public documents. The county board will retain one copy and a copy will be filed with the Clerk of Superior Court.
View the complete canvass report.
Second Primary Election
The State Board of Elections has received a request for a second primary from a candidate running for the Republican party nomination for Lieutenant Governor. Under N.C.G.S. 163-111 (determination of primary results; second primaries), the top candidate for a single office who receives more than 30% of the vote in a primary wins their party’s nomination and moves on to the general election. If no candidate in a primary receives more than 30% of the vote, the candidate who receives the second-highest vote total may demand a second primary. The top two vote-getters would be on the ballot for the second primary.
According to unofficial results from the March 5, 2024 primary, the candidate would be eligible to request a second primary under N.C.G.S. 163-111, contingent upon the State Board’s certification of the primary results at its March 26 canvass meeting. Following the certification, all 100 county boards of elections will be conducting a second primary. The second primary will be conducted on Tuesday, May 14, 2024.
Who is eligible to vote in a second primary?
All voters registered with the Republican party are eligible to vote in the second primary. Unaffiliated voters who either did not vote in the March 5 primary or who voted the Republican party primary ballot would also be eligible.
New registration of voters is not permitted between the first and second primaries. This means same-day registration is not available during early voting for the second primary.
Dates and deadlines
Here are voter dates and deadlines for the 2024 second primary election in North Carolina:
• April 25 – In-person early voting begins
• May 7 – Absentee ballot request deadline (5:00 p.m.)
• May 11 – In-person early voting ends (3:00 p.m.)
• May 14 – Election Day
• May 14 – Absentee ballot return deadline (7:30 p.m.)
For more information, contact the Alexander County Board of Elections at elections@alexandercountync.gov or (828) 632-2990.