Buncombe County Certifies March Primary Results, Submits to State Board

At 12:28 p.m. Friday, the Buncombe County Board of Elections voted to certify the results of the March 3 primary, closing out a ten-day canvass process and transmitting official totals to the North Carolina State Board of Elections.

The certification, conducted under NCGS § 163-182.5, came after board members reviewed administrative challenges, examined audits covering all voting types, and inspected the results before casting their vote. The figures reported on election night were unofficial until that moment; the canvass is the statutory process that authenticates vote counts as final.

Of the 54,875 ballots cast across 80 polling places, 30,777 came in during the early voting period, 23,267 were cast in person on Election Day, and 831 arrived by absentee mail. Those totals represent roughly one in four of Buncombe County's 212,915 registered voters. Statewide, turnout was thinner: 1,505,264 of 7,664,465 registered voters participated, a figure the county characterized as under 20 percent.

The canvass period included counting absentee ballots and researching provisional ballots, which are issued when questions arise about a voter's eligibility, whether due to missing photo identification, registration problems, or appearing at the wrong precinct. Valid provisional ballots are folded into the certified totals.

North Carolina law also requires a sample audit to verify that machine-tabulated results are accurate. In Buncombe County, bipartisan teams conducted hand counts of randomly selected precincts on March 9 at the Board of Elections office in Asheville, comparing those hand counts against machine totals. Those audit results were presented to the board as part of Friday's canvass meeting.

"The work that goes into certifying an election is labor-intensive and important," said Election Services Director Corinne Duncan. "Our staff worked tirelessly, adapted to changes and met all deadlines. The process continues to go more and more smoothly each election."

Among the races now reflected in the certified totals, Buncombe County Commissioner and lawyer Martin Moore won the Democratic primary for district attorney. Moore has stated his research indicates he would be the first Black district attorney in Buncombe County's history; no Republican filed for the seat, making the November general election a formality.

Complete certified results are available at buncombenc.gov/vote. The Buncombe County Board of Elections holds its next scheduled meeting on April 14 at 3:30 p.m. in the Board Room at 35 Woodfin St.