RALEIGH, N.C. – Governor Pat McCrory officially filed for a statewide recount Tuesday morning.
Unofficial results as of Monday showed Attorney General Roy Cooper leads McCrory by 6,550 votes
The recount was filed to meet the original date statutorily specified, although the formal recount will not occur until after the county boards of election certify their results.
“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,” said Russell Peck, Pat McCrory’s campaign manager.
A conservative group also filed a lawsuit saying North Carolina can’t finish tallying its close governor’s race until it verifies the residency of thousands of voters who used same-day registration.
The head of the Civitas Institute is asking a federal court to require that the state Board of Elections refrain from certifying election results until it has completed verification of same-day registrants.
North Carolina law allows people to register and cast a ballot on the same day during the early voting period by offering proof of their address.
The lawsuit says North Carolina law requires election officials to check the residency of same-day registrants by sending them mail and seeing if it comes back returned. Since state elections board guidelines indicate that 30 days should be allowed for the mailing process, the lawsuit says the overall tallying of votes can’t be finished before December 7.