CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The certification process of all North Carolina votes happens 11 days after Election Day.
The Mecklenburg County Board of Elections (BOE) office was standing room only Friday morning for the public meeting about the canvassing of votes.
BOE Director Michael Dickerson told WCNC Charlotte it's an important part of the electoral process.
"It's not about the close race," Dickerson said. "It's about the fact that I presented to my board these are the 361,000 votes that we had cast, and my board said 'Yes, we certified all these are correct,' and 'We're happy with the accounting process and procedure. These are our numbers for Mecklenburg County.' That's the important thing."
Board members approved adding five absentee votes to the final tally.
"That was not going to be enough to change things, so I think all the people were involved in those races are aware," Dickerson said. "We want to make it safe and comfortable for them."
The numbers in a close race for Superior Court Judge District 26B called for a recount that will take place on Monday.
"That's how it works when you vote," Dickerson explained. "It doesn't say you only win if you win by 1,000. It says if you win less than 1%, Then, the second-place candidate is allowed to call for a recount. And that's what we do. We try to make sure everybody is confident in the process. And that's what we want."
After the recount is done and certified in its county, the certification goes to the state Board of Elections to be certified at its Nov. 29 meeting.
"I hope it was somebody that, after this past year, more people will look at the democratic process and say, 'Hey, we do do this. This is how we do this,' and they came out and found out for themselves," Dickerson shared.
Contact Jane Monreal at jmonreal@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Flashpoint is a weekly in-depth look at politics in Charlotte, North Carolina, South Carolina, and beyond with host Ben Thompson. Listen to the podcast weekly.
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