Camden County Board of Elections certifies March special election after in‑house audit, reviews turnout

The Camden County Board of Elections voted unanimously to certify the results of a March special-called election after staff reported an in‑house audit of a single precinct and reconciled the county’s election records.

The certification finalizes results from the election and follows staff briefings on turnout, absentee ballots and voting‑system checks that board members said supported the posted returns.

In public comment, a resident who identified himself as Mr. Rapp raised questions about the official statement of votes cast, saying the county report (time‑stamped 03/19/2025 at 10:28 a.m.) showed 27 ballots — about 1% — with no selection recorded. "There were 27 voters or 1% that did not make a selection and they cast a blank ballot," Mr. Rapp told the board, and he pointed the panel to a Secretary of State spreadsheet that is publicly available and updated daily.

Elections Supervisor Shannon Nettles told the board staff had reviewed turnout and reconciled the county's counts. "We have already done our reconciliation report for this election, and we were spot on," Elections Supervisor Shannon Nettles said. Nettles said two precincts — West Saint Marys and South Saint Marys — had the highest returns and were the only precincts with turnout above 10 percent. She reported nearly 95 percent return for absentee ballots and "almost a 7% turnout overall for this election." Nettles also said there were no provisional ballots issued and no UOCAVA ballots for this election.

Nettles and an elections staffer, identified only as Dennis, described an internal, non‑statutory review of Tarboro precinct ballots performed after the election. "Tarboro's results ended up in a perfect 15‑for, 15‑against," Dennis said, and staff hand‑audited a sample of ballots in the office. The three staff members who recounted that precinct reported a 100 percent match with the reported totals, Nettles said, a check the office completed without hiring an outside auditor because the state does not require a risk‑limiting audit for county‑only special elections.

Board discussion also noted a small discrepancy between the county's posted advanced‑voter total and the Secretary of State spreadsheet: "As of this morning, the Secretary of State reported there were 1,776 advanced voters. That is 3 short of the 1,779 reported on the election summary report," Mr. Rapp said. Nettles said she would research that difference with the Secretary of State's office but reiterated that the county's reconciliation matched its internal records and that the documents were ready to be certified.

Chair Robin Maynor Knight (District 1) put the certification to a voice vote; the board members voted in favor and the clerk announced approval with no recorded opposition. The meeting minutes and motions to adopt the agenda and prior minutes were also approved by voice vote during the session.

The board recognized outgoing member Kelly Stofflet at what staff said would be her last meeting and introduced two appointees who are scheduled to be sworn in on Monday: Joe Stell (appointed by Judge Sweatt) and Ray Holland (appointed by Chairman Casey). Nettles also told board members staff will submit a fiscal‑year 2025–26 budget request that includes four additional equipment cages for election gear.

The board adjourned following the certification vote.