Neighbors on Call's Weekly Policy Update for 11/16/20

• Here are the results of the five NC House campaigns we worked with:

  • √ Rep. Terence Everitt, HD 35: +3102

  • √ Ricky Hurtado, HD 63: +477

  • Rep. Sydney Batch, HD 37: -2294

  • Kimberly Hardy, HD 43: -1420

  • Nicole Quick, HD 59: -2458

• Nearly all county election offices submitted the results of final vote canvasses on Friday. Republicans had a net loss of one NC Senate seat but won at least three new NC House races and will retain majorities - albeit not veto-proof ones - in both legislative chambers.
  

• As of Friday, North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley held a 35-vote lead over her Republican challenger, Associate Justice Paul Newby. (See update below.) With the exception of 1,472 provisional ballots from Robeson County, all votes cast in North Carolina have been submitted. It is likely there will be a recount because of the unusually close statewide contest in which nearly 5.4 million votes were cast. Additionally, the Newby campaign had already filed election protests in a number of counties in a continuation of the legal battles over which absentee-by-mail ballots can be counted. Regardless of the final outcome, Democrats will maintain a majority on the court.
  

• UPDATE: On Sunday night Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the NC State Board of Elections, reported that two North Carolina counties, Robeson and Washington, discovered during routine canvassing that there were mistakes in the voting results they had reported on election night. Brinson Bell indicated that approximately 3,000 votes will be affected. Corrections are expected by the end of today, Monday, and may have an impact on the race for Chief Justice of the NC Supreme Court. As of Monday morning, Chief Justice Beasley is down by 230 votes.
  

• With Friday’s vote tallies reported by nearly all counties, Attorney General Josh Stein leads his Republican opponent Jim O’Neal by a comfortable margin, making a recount unlikely.
  

• NC House Minority Leader Darren Jackson (D-Wake) confirmed Friday that he will not seek that position in the next General Assembly. Rep. Robert Reives (D-Chatham, Durham) announced he will be a candidate for the post. He is the current deputy leader for the Democratic caucus.