Buncombe County Board of Elections certifies votes despite Hurricane Helene challenges

The Buncombe County Board of Elections met to complete the certification of votes cast during the November 5th presidential election on November 15th. Photo credit: WLOS Staff

By Zola Sigmon, WLOS, Saturday, November 16th 2024

BUNCOMBE COUNTY, N.C. (WLOS) — The Buncombe County Board of Elections met to complete the certification of votes cast during the Nov. 5 presidential election on Nov. 15 in accordance with NCGS 163-182.5.

According to a release, results on election night are unofficial until authenticated by canvass, which is the “official process of determining whether the votes have been counted and tabulated correctly.”

“For close elections, the canvass period is especially important,” the release said. “During this time, election officials count timely absentee ballots and research provisional ballots. These votes are added to the unofficial results that were released on Election night.”

The release said that in the Nov. 15 public meeting, the County Board of Elections met to “review voter and administration challenges, adjust vote totals based on challenge outcomes, present the audits for all voting types and allow the Board to review the results.”

Before the canvass meeting, the release said the board must ensure that the sample hand-to-eye audit count and any discretionary or mandatory recounts have been completed.

Additionally, the board must confirm that all eligible ballots have been counted, including ballots that were unable to be read in the precinct, absentee ballots and provisional ballots.

“The work that goes into certifying an election is labor intensive and important,” said Election Services Director Corinne Duncan. “These processes help voters have confidence casting their vote.”

Duncan said that election officials work incredibly hard to ensure that results are tallied “timely and accurately.”

“This is no small feat, especially with growing administrative demands, but most notably for WNC, this was accomplished despite the numerous challenges of Hurricane Helene,” Duncan said about the count. “What was accomplished, in election administration and by voters themselves, was remarkable.”

The release said the Board of Elections voted to certify the election results at 4:59 p.m., with official results submitted to the state board and can be found on the Buncombe County Election Services website.

According to the release, the next meeting of the Buncombe County Board of Elections will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 1 p.m., if a recount is needed.

For those interested in attending, the meeting will be open to the public and held at the Election Services Warehouse, located at 50 Coxe Ave., Asheville.

Click here to read the news story on WLOS.