Democratic state lawmaker, defeated in primary, now claims election irregularities marred results

Election irregularities are being alleged in northeastern North Carolina, where a Democratic incumbent in the state House of Representatives appeared to lose in the Democratic primary to a more progressive challenger.

Rep. Michael Wray, D-Northampton, filed an election protest Friday morning. Unofficial results showed Wray — who has served 20 years in the legislature and is one of the last remaining socially conservative Democrats — losing by only 41 votes to Rodney Pierce, a local middle school history teacher.

Wray’s protest claims that multiple voters were given the wrong ballots when they went to the polls.

And others, he said, showed up to vote only to be told their names had been taken off the list of registered voters and were turned away.

All those voters were therefore unable to cast a ballot for their preferred candidates, Wray claims. That could cast doubt on the results of such a close race, which Pierce appears to have won with 50.1% of the vote, according to the unofficial results reported after the March 5 primary.

Wray also claims that in at least one voting precinct, a poll worker on site was also passing out fliers urging people to vote for Pierce. That’s an illegal act of electioneering, Wray’s challenge claims — adding that it appears to have worked, as Wray performed poorly at that specific precinct.

Local elections officials must now convene a meeting quickly to look into Wray’s claims and determine the next steps forward.

Pierce told WRAL in a statement Friday that Wray should drop his challenges and concede defeat.

“On Tuesday, the people of House District 27 turned out and chose me to represent them," he wrote. "Now, my opponent seems to want to change the rules more than a week after the contest ended, just because he lost. That is not how our elections and our democracy are supposed to work. In a time of a crisis of faith in our institutions, spreading conspiracy theories about our election process is wrong and it has real consequences."

Wray didn't immediately respond to a request for comment beyond what his election protests state.