by WorldTribune Staff, November 22, 2016
“It’s 40 days until I take the oath of office,” Democratic gubernatorial candidate Roy Cooper proclaimed on Nov. 22.
Republican Gov. Pat McCrory, however, is digging in for a long battle.
Lawyers for McCrory’s campaign have filed ballot challenges in 50 of the state’s 100 counties, alleging votes were fraudulently cast by dead people and convicted felons.
“Why is Roy Cooper so insistent on circumventing the electoral process and counting the votes of dead people and felons?” McCrory spokesman Ricky Diaz said on Nov. 21. “It may be because he needs those fraudulent votes to count in order to win. Instead of insulting North Carolina voters, we intend to let the process work as it should to ensure that every legal vote is counted properly.”
Meanwhile, the Civitas Center for Law and Freedom (CLF) said it has filed a federal lawsuit requesting a restraining order against the inclusion of ballots cast via same-day registration in the 2016 North Carolina election, pending further investigation.
Cooper currently leads by about 6,600 votes out of 4.7 million cast, according to unofficial results. McCrory can call for a statewide recount if his final deficit is within 10,000 votes of Cooper.
If it comes down to it, North Carolina law allows the state legislature to step in and make the final call on “contested elections” — essentially allowing lawmakers to decide which candidate got the most votes.
Cooper said in a news release that “it would be irresponsible to wait any longer to tackle the issues we campaigned on across the state.”
Civitas President Francis De Luca said: “To count ballots without verification of same-day registration information discriminates by treating one class of voters differently from another. Furthermore, this calls into question the outcome of close elections such as the one we are still in the middle of in North Carolina.
“Legitimate voters should never have their votes canceled by illegitimate voters. The State Board of Elections should examine every ballot cast via same-day registration to verify that every vote cast is genuine and legitimate.”