Buncombe County elections board schedules recount to begin Nov. 19 at 1 p.m.

The Buncombe County Board of Elections voted unanimously to begin a state-directed recount at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 19, at the county's Election Services Warehouse, and to resume recount work Wednesday at 8 a.m. The motion, made during a late-night canvass meeting, carried 5-0.

Board members said they preferred starting Tuesday afternoon to give staff time after the state's noon deadline for recount requests to confirm which contests qualify. Staff told the board the state's deadline for candidates to request a recount is noon on Tuesday; a separate local recount deadline is Monday at 5 p.m. Staff also noted that a recount can take multiple days and will be done in shifts so all observers and bipartisan teams are present during manual work.

The board discussed practical details including where duplications and hand-counting will occur, how many DS-200 tabulators will be available and the need for bipartisan presence at each stage. Staff indicated any ballot printing or ballot-style issues discovered during recount work will be handled by duplicators and that ballots must be routed to the correct precinct-style before tabulation.

The board and staff also reminded the public that the county will follow the state's certification calendar: once Buncombe's final abstracts are signed and submitted, the State Board of Elections will complete its canvas on Nov. 26. The board did not name the motion's mover in the public transcript; the vote was recorded as 5-0 in favor.