MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. — Although it wasn’t unanimous, Mecklenburg county elections director Michael Dickerson said he’s happy with the work the elections department did in getting the election result certified.
“I felt very good about what we did here,” Dickerson said. “In the end, it passed, albeit 3-2.”
The two no votes came from the two Republicans on the board.
“I’ve been on the board for 11 years, I’ve certified over 22 elections, this is the first time I’ve not voted to certify an election,” Potter Summa said.
Dickerson said he and his team did everything by the book.
“They didn’t have problems with how we did the job, how we counted, how we programmed, that was never on their minds,” Dickerson said.
Summa said the problem was the state allowing new rules that extended the deadline for absentee ballots, allowed ballots with no postmark to be ballot-tracked to determine if it had been placed in the mail on time, and accepted ballots without a witnesses name and address.
“Ballots counted that should never have been counted under North Carolina law,” Potter Summa said.
The changes were made because of the pandemic, and its impact on how people casted their vote. The election broke records for absentee ballot turnout, and the courts ruled the state could impose those new rules.
Dickerson said he had hoped the certification would be unanimous, but that both sides presented their reasoning for their votes well.
“I always like to see 5-0, I like to build a consensus on anything I try to do,” Dickerson said. "But it was good. It was good. I appreciate their comments, both sides.”
Dickerson said every vote that was counted was counted legally in accordance with what the State Board of Elections mandated.