Story updated Nov. 13 by WCJ
Republican candidates won all three seats for County commission and most likely will avoid the re-count.
Jackson County Board of Election on a community meeting on Friday, Nov. 11, acknowledged a mistake done during counting on election day. The chair of J.C. Board of Election, Kirk Stephens, apologized for the confusion and explained how the mistake happened.
“I have outmost confidence in the system and I hope you also have a confidence in it,” Stephens said to around 30 community members who came to the meeting many of them republican voters and candidates who run on the elections.
As Stephens explained the absentee by mail that were received before the election day, 523 total, were counted twice – as part of the one stop votes and as absentee votes. The mistake was discovered very fast and corrected.
According to the new data a total of 14. 969 ballots were casted in Jackson County in early voting and on election day. That is 50% turnout.
Mark Letson is the new chair of the County Commission and Todd Bryson and John Smith will represent District 1 and 2. Doug Farmer is the new sheriff who will take the position in December. The rules state that for a re-count there has to be less then one percent difference and some of the contenders need to request the recount.
The results are not final until Nov. 18 after the Canvass. Stephens said that they will open the absentee by mail that arrived after the election day until Nov. 14 and will look at the provisional votes. Canvass is open for public and starts at 11 a.m. at the BOE offices in Sylva.
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The 2022 midterms should serve as a reminder that every vote counts. The late additions of the absentee votes flipped the initial results for the J.C. Commission representative for District 2 for the Democrats. Boyce Deitz is ahead of John Smith for 35 votes. Republican Mark Letson is only 6 points ahead of the Democrat Brian McMahan for the chairman of the Jackson County Commission. A recount for these two seats is likely.
Jackson County Board of Election (BOE) has a meeting tomorrow (Nov. 11) at 10 a.m. to explain the results but as Lisa Lovedahl Ries said for The Sylva Herald the change was simply because the absentee votes were added last.
“Normally the absentee by mail is released first thing with the one-stop votes,” she said for the Herald. “This time they were the last we released. They just got out of the order that we normally release it. Everything was released in a timely manner before 10 p.m. The totals were all there they were just released opposite of normal.”
The election results are not final yet. Canvass is on Nov. 18 when BOE approves the provisional ballots along with valid absentee by mail ballots post marked by election day and arrived by Monday Nov. 14.
The turnout of voters this time was lower then in 2018 midterms. This year 15,492 ballots were casted or 51.87% of the registered 29,869 voters in the county. In the 2018 midterms, 53.9 percent of registered voters in Jackson voted and in 2020 elections 72% voted. WCU political science professor and election expert, Dr. Chris Copper, says this likely impacted the local races. This year WCU students voted less then in 2018.
“It certainly swung some of them,” Cooper said for Sylva Herald. “We know that early voting was a bit older in 2022 than it was in 2018. Turnout at WCU was also below 2018 levels. And it looks like Cullowhee in general was down. Given that those are exactly the places and the people who are more likely to vote Democrat, it’s certainly not a stretch to say that it might have been the difference-maker. Then again, with just six votes currently separating Mark Letson and Brian McMahan, one family could be the difference-maker.”
Some of the students WCJ talked to after the elections were happy with the results but also some were frustrated.
WCU Junior Carson Weathers, and SJ Harrell, WCU senior, were very happy that Ted Budd will be the new N.C. Senator in Washington and keeping it as a Republican seat.
“Overall, I’m very pleased with the election results. I hold conservative values, just like many of the people who won,” Harrell said. “I’m happy he won. Ted is a family-man with a Christian background. He wants to keep religious rights across the board. He also stands with law enforcement and wants to defend the second amendment.”
Weathers thinks that Budd will provide voice for the agriculture industry.
“I lean towards women having a choice over what they choose to do with their bodies, even when it comes to abortion. I know that Ted Budd is pro-life, even when it comes to cases of rape or incest and I don’t necessarily agree with that which is why I’m a little frustrated he won against Cheri Beasley,” WCU student Deanna Sipe said.
Results in Jackson County for local, state, federal and courts seats
Board of Commissioners
In the race for chairman, Mark Letson (REP) won with a ballot count of 7,667. Which barely surpassed Brian McMahan’s 7,661 total.
As for board of commissioners, Todd Bryson (REP) won district 1 with a count of 7,828 votes compared to Gayle Woody’s 7,507 total. Boyce T. Deitz (DEM) won district 2 with a count of 7,656 compared to John W. Smith’s 7,621 total.
Jackson County sheriff
Doug Farmer (REP), won against Rick Buchanan (DEM) with 7,965 votes compared to Buchanan’s 7,391 total. According to “The History of Jackson County,” Farmer will be the county’s first GOP sheriff in 96 years.
Clerk, Register of Deeds, Conservation supervisors
The remaining elected positions consist of Kim Coggins Poteet (DEM), for Clerk of Superior Court; Shandra Sims (DEM), is the Register of Deeds, and Doug Parker and John Wittekind, are new Soil and Water conservation district supervisors.
North Carolina Elections
U.S. Senate
With 52.45% votes, Ted Budd (REP) won against Cheri Beasley (DEM).
House of Representatives District 11
Chuck Edwards (REP) won with 54% of votes against Jasmine Beach-Ferrara (DEM) and David Adam Coatney (LIB).
North Carolina Senate District 50
The present senator Kevin Corbin (REP) as expected won the race with 55.23% of the vote over Karen Burnette McCracken (DEM) taking 44.77%.
North Carolina House 119 District
Representative Mike Clampitt (REP) won with the 8,166 or 53.29% against Al Platt (DEM) who got 7,157 or 46.71% of the vote. This district one of the districts that was re-drawn prior the elections and included Jackson, Swain and Transylvania counties.
Supreme and appellate Courts
Most court elections had republican outcomes. Richard Dietz and Trey Allen (REP) won supreme court associate justice seats 03 and 05.
Julee Tate Flood (REP), Donna Stroud (REP), John M. Tyson (REP), and Michael J. Stading (REP) won NC Court https://er.ncsbe.gov/?election_dt=11/08/2022&county_id=50&office=ALL&contest=0of Appeals seats 8-11.
For district 30, Donna Forga, and Kristina Lynn Earwood (both REP) took seats 1-2. Seat 03 was taken by Roy Wijewickrama (DEM).
Ashley Hornsby Welch (REP) was voted as the district attorney for District 43.
See the full results for Jackson County on the North Carolina State Board of Election.
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