This news item expired on Tuesday, May 31, 2022 so the information below could be outdated or incorrect.
Voters in Buncombe County turned out in record numbers for the 2022 Primary Election. In 2018, 30,264 people voted in the Primary, and as of 4:30 p.m. on May 17, more than 42,000 people had voted, with thousands more expected before closing. Click here to see the 10, 2, 4 numbers.
“We’re so proud of how we were able to serve our Buncombe County voters,” says Election Services Director Corinne Duncan. “We have 450 poll workers who work tirelessly to prepare, and we are excited to see the significant increase in turnout across all voting types. Across Buncombe County’s 80 precincts, there were no reports of any disruptions to the voting process.”
At 7:30 p.m., results will begin posting here. The earliest results include those who voted early or submitted absentee ballots, and as results come in from the County’s 80 precincts, the results will be updated. The last results are expected to be received by 10 p.m. Election night results are unofficial. For results about individual races, visit the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) Results Dashboard.
Election night marks the beginning of the statutorily required vote-counting and auditing processes after every election called “canvass.” Canvass is the entire process of ensuring votes have been counted correctly and required audits have been completed, culminating in the certification of results during meetings of every county board of elections. By law, these canvass meetings will be held by each county board of elections at 11 a.m., Friday, May 27.
Also pursuant to state law, the State Board will meet at 11 a.m. Thursday, June 9, to finalize primary results. N.C.G.S. § 163-182.5.
All eligible ballots will be counted. For the primary, county boards of elections must count absentee-by-mail ballots postmarked on or before Election Day that arrive in the mail by 5 p.m. Friday, May 20. Ballots from military and overseas voters received by 5 p.m. May 26 will also be counted, as required by state law. N.C.G.S. § 163-258.12.
Provisional ballots cast during the election must be researched to determine voter eligibility. Ballots determined to be cast by eligible voters will be added to the results during the canvass period. N.C.G.S. § 163-182.2.
Under North Carolina law, all ballots are counted by certified and tested machines. The sample audit count, also required by state law, helps ensure the reliability of the machine-tabulated results. Bipartisan teams in each county conduct hand-to-eye counts of all ballots in the randomly selected precincts and compare the results with the results of the machine counts. The sample audit will be open to the public and takes place Monday, May 23, at 10 a.m.
At 11 a.m. Wednesday, May 18, State Board staff will randomly select two precincts in every county to be audited. For the purpose of this random selection, one-stop early voting locations and the entire collection of absentee-by-mail ballots received by a county are considered “precincts.” For information, see State Board to Randomly Select Precincts for Post-Election Audits.
The State Board of Elections conducts additional audits to verify the accuracy of the count. The results of all audits will be submitted to the State Board as part of the final certification of the election. For more information, see the NCSBE Post-Election Procedures and Audits webpage.