Recount confirms Carpenter's victory

By Carey Phillips

Final totals from the five-county district showed Republican Marge Carpenter edged Democrat Mary Ann Enloe by 102 votes (23,484-23,382). Carpenter had led by 162 votes (23,224-23,062) following the canvass.

Enloe, a Haywood County commissioner, was eligible to request the recount because she came within 1 percent of Carpenter, also a Haywood County resident.

Incumbent Democrat Phil Haire of Sylva was the leading vote-getter in the race and won a second term in the N.C. Legislature.

The biggest change in the recount was in Jackson County where Enloe had a net gain of 93 votes. Her total went from 5,409 to 5,716, while Carpenter's climbed from 4,184 to 4,398.

The discrepancy was primarily due to a problem counting absentee ballots in that race. Lisa Lovedahl-Lehman, director of elections, said the original team counting absentees for the 52nd House District did not separate straight-ticket and split-ticket votes. They felt the process was taking too long and received additional help. At that point, the straight and split tickets were separated, she said.

"Apparently what they had counted up to that time didn't get put into the final totals," Lovedahl-Lehman said. "It was a miscommunication between absentee counters."

No such problems were found in two statewide races. In the race for secretary of labor, Democrat Doug Berger gained 12 votes in Jackson County to finish at 6,154. Republican Cherie Berry lost six votes for a total of 5,243.

Democrat Jim Fuller had 6,288 votes for a seat on the State Court of Appeals. That's 12 more than before the recount. Republican John Tyson lost five votes and finished at 5,139.

The recounts confirmed Berry and Tyson as statewide winners.

Back to Archive: 11/30/00.