by WorldTribune Staff, November 24, 2016
Citing “serious concerns” of widespread voter fraud, North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory said he has officially filed for a recount in his bid for re-election against Democratic candidate Roy Cooper.
“As the second-place finisher in the preliminary results of that election, I note that the difference in the announced vote totals between the first and second place finishers was less than 10,000 votes and, thus, I am statutorily entitled to a recount of the announced votes,” McCrory said in a letter delivered on Nov. 22 to the State Board of Elections.
“With serious concerns of potential voter fraud emerging across the state, it has become apparent that a thorough recount is one way the people of North Carolina can have confidence in the results, process and system,” the Republican governor said.
As of Nov. 22, McCrory trailed Cooper by more than 6,600 votes.
McCrory’s campaign has filed ballot protests in 50 of North Carolina’s 100 counties. The campaign is contesting multiple individual votes before local election boards, including claims that felons, deceased people and people from outside the state voted in the Nov. 8 election.
“With many outstanding votes yet to be counted for the first time, legal challenges, ballot protests and voter fraud allegations, we must keep open the ability to allow the established recount process to ensure every legal vote is counted properly,” McCrory campaign manager Russell Peck said in a statement, according to WTVD-TV.
Democratic lawmakers are calling for McCrory to concede.
“By any definition, Roy Cooper has won this election,” Rep. G.K. Butterfield told reporters on Nov. 22, adding that McCrory’s “creative methodology to challenge this election” is “reckless” and “frivolous.”
President-elect Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in North Carolina by nearly 200,000 votes, according to the State Board of Elections.