LUMBERTON — The North Carolina Board of Elections has officially declared Vanessa Burton the winner in the District Court 16B Seat 2 race in Robeson County, but the door is ajar for more drama.
The board declared Burton, a Democrat, the winner over Republican Jack Moody in the race for the judicial bench position on March 4. The state board announced Friday it will issue a certificate of election to Burton and Moody on April 8. That order comes with the caveat that Moody still can appeal the certification.
The order emailed Friday to the attorneys representing Burton and Moody reads in part, “After the decision by the State Board has been served on the parties, the certification of nomination or election or the results of the referendum shall issue pursuant to G.S. 163A-1184 unless an appealing party obtains a stay of the certification from the Superior Court of Wake County within 10 days after the date of service.”
Burton and Moody are expected to be served the order in person on Monday, said Patrick Gannon, a state Elections Board spokesman. The 10-day window for filing an appeal starts then.
Moody, an attorney with the Robeson County Public Defender’s Office, hinted after the March 4 decision that he may file an appeal. The possibility still exists, Moody said Friday evening.
“I just got it in my hands,” Moody said. “I haven’t even read it yet.”
The order was emailed to him by his attorney, he said.
“I will have a talk with my attorney tomorrow,” Moody said.
A decision about whether or not to file an appeal will be made after that conversation, he said.
Moody has argued that he has evidence that some absentee ballots, which should have been sealed, were seen open, but the state board didn’t let him make his case. The Robesonian was told by two sources that state elections investigators were in town on Wednesday, but the newspaper could not confirm it.
Burton, an assistant prosecutor in the Robeson County District Attorney’s Office, did not return phone calls seeking comment.
Certification of the District Court contest was delayed by the state Board of Elections because of concerns the results of the Nov. 6 general election were tainted by the same absentee ballot irregularities that caused the race between Republican Mark Harris and Democrat Dan McCready for the District 9 seat in the U.S. House of Representatives not to be certified. The state board has since ordered a new election in District 9.
The vote count taken after the Nov. 6 general election showed Moody won the District Court 16B seat by 138 votes. His lead was cut to 77 after absentee ballots were tallied. After provisional ballots were counted on Nov. 15, Moody trailed Burton by 71 votes.
Burton’s margin of victory was below the 1 percent of all votes cast threshold that permits a recount request. Moody was granted a recount, the results of which showed Burton had 15,382 votes to Moody’s 15,315, a margin of 67.
