Berger Trails Page in NC Senate Race

0:00I'm Cory with the story, and this is your Pulse of the City, Durham News Today. Republican State Senate Leader Phil Berger trails Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page by 23 votes in the Republican primary for North Carolina Senate District 26. This seat covers Rockingham County and parts of Guilford County, a solidly Republican area where the primary winner will likely dominate the general. Election. After an initial machine recount confirmed the slim margin, Berger requested a second recount on Friday. The first recount involved full machine tallies in both counties last Thursday. It changed nothing in Rockingham County, while both candidates each dropped one vote in Guilford, keeping Page ahead. Berger had pushed for a targeted review of 220 overvotes and undervotes, but officials stuck to the standard process, noting state law. Focus is mainly on overvotes. Berger argues machines may have missed voter intent on some undervote ballots, and he points to differences in how the counties handled them during.

1:02The recount. In Guilford, some ballots got tossed as unreadable, but Rockingham staff enhanced marks to count them. Page's team calls this a bid for special rules, insisting the law calls for a standard sample hand recount of 3% of precincts. Berger wants a full hand recount, or at least of those disputed ballots, claiming it ensures every legal vote counts since the uncounted ones out the number. The margin by 10 times, the state board of elections must decide soon, with any second recount due by Tuesday, March 24th. This tight race now heads into protest and possible court challenges through April, as both sides fight to claim the nomination.