By By JONATHAN CLAYBORNE
Staff Writer
One or two minor snafus didn’t change the outcome of last week’s municipal elections, elections officials revealed during canvassing on Tuesday.
The Beaufort County Board of Elections certified the election results during a meeting attended by the three board members, one member of the media and Kellie Harris Hopkins, elections director.
“Really, one of the cleanest elections I’ve had,” Hopkins said. “Very, very happy with it.”
Countywide, the only significant change in vote totals occurred in Washington’s Ward 4, where write-in candidate Sean “Nico” Nathan picked up 48 votes in the City Council race.
According to Hopkins, Nathan had asked elections officials why he hadn’t received any votes in Ward 4.
On election night, it was clear the candidate had scored votes in each of the other three wards in the city as well as in early voting.
Hopkins said a simple error occurred on election night, adding that poll workers didn’t call in Nathan’s votes along with other totals reported to the elections office by telephone.
Otherwise, the poll workers completed the recording process accurately, she said.
Hopkins said she had advised the candidate that the totals could change during canvassing.
“I told him that’s why it’s unofficial,” she said of election-night returns.
Reached for comment Tuesday afternoon, Nathan said that he and his supporters knew something was strange when Ward 4 came up blank for him after the results were known.
“But that’s what this whole process is about, to make sure that things are fair and equal,” he said of canvassing.
Nathan, an entrepreneur who got into the race just five days ahead of the election, said he plans to seek office again at some point.
He said he might run for council again or seek a higher-level office.
“We’re going to kind of see where I fit in the best,” he commented.
In other business, Hopkins told the board that 11 provisional ballots had been cast on Election Day. Provisional ballots are marked by voters whose eligibility is in question on the day of voting.
The board approved seven of the 11 provisional ballots.
One ballot was thrown out because it turned out that the voter who marked it was registered to vote in Mecklenburg County, not Beaufort County.
Another ballot was thrown out because the voter who filled it out hadn’t registered prior to Election Day.
“The nice thing about these elections is it doesn’t matter because there’s such a margin,” said Tom Payne, chairman of the board, referring to the margins of victory among the candidates.
Another ballot led to questions because the voter who cast it had placed a check mark beside the candidate of his or her choice instead of filling out the oval next to the candidate’s name.
“I believe that that ballot has been counted,” Hopkins said.
Added Payne, “It was enough marking that the machine picked it up.”
Hopkins said the board could opt to approve the ballot or leave it out.
“We can’t find that ballot now, though, can we?” asked board member Jim Vosburgh.
“No,” Hopkins replied.
The board left the matter at the discretion of the chief precinct judge, who had allowed the ballot to be counted.
Also present was Archie Harding, secretary of the elections board.