County canvass done; no surprises
By Steve Herring
Published in News on May 18, 2012 1:46 PM
There were no big surprises in the Wayne County Board of Elections' Tuesday canvass, Elections Director Vickie Reed said.
There was a difference of 110 votes -- 104 provisional and six absentee -- between the unofficial and official total. That was not enough to make a difference in any races, she said.
On Wednesday, state Rep. Stephen LaRoque of Kinston asked for a recount in his 54-vote loss to political newcomer John Bell IV of Goldsboro for the Republican nomination for House District 10. Official results now have Bell winning with 3,908 votes (50.23 percent) to 3,872 (49.77 percent) for LaRoque -- a 36-vote margin.
Bell picked up six ballots in the Wayne County canvass to finish with 1,691 votes in the county, while LaRoque added three to finish with 926.
The recount will be held Monday at 9:30 a.m. in Wayne, Lenoir, Greene and Craven counties that make up District 10. In Wayne County, the recount will be held in the county Administration Building at 209 S. William St.
LaRoque did not ask for a second primary, and Thursday at noon was the filing deadline. However, statewide, several candidates did ask for runoffs and a second primary will be held July 17.
LaRoque said on election night that he would not seek a recount, only to later change his mind. LaRoque said he said he did not think the recount would change the outcome, but that he had supporters asking him to request a recount.
Bell will face Democrat Jim Hardison of Kinston in November.
Four of the five second primaries for executive offices are Republican.
The only Democratic one is in the commissioner of labor race where Marlowe Foster asked for the second primary.
The Republican races were requested by:
* Tony Gurley, lieutenant governor
* Mike Causey, commissioners of insurance
* Kenn Gardner, secretary of state
* Richard Alexander, superintendent of public instruction.
None of the nine General Assembly or U.S. House second primaries affect Wayne County.
One-stop voting for the second primary will begin June 28 and end on July 14, the only Saturday, at the Parker Memorial Conference Room in the Wayne County Board of Elections Office, 209 S. William St.
The dates and times for one-stop voting will be:
* June 28 and 29, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
* July 2, 3, 5, 6 and 9 through 13, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
* July 14, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.