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Burke County elections board removes deceased voter’s absentee ballot, approves six absentee ballots and poll-worker list
Summary
The Burke County Board of Elections unanimously removed one civilian absentee ballot after a family reported the voter’s recent death, accepted six absentee ballots (one UOCAVA and five civilian) into the DS200 scanner—raising the public count from 18 to 24—and approved additional poll workers for the March 3, 2026 primary.
The Burke County Board of Elections met Tuesday in Morganton and unanimously removed one civilian absentee ballot after the voter’s daughter reported the voter’s recent death, the board recorded.
Chairman Anthony Iovino and three board members—Rhonda Dautrich, Linda Walker and Donna Wojcik—then accepted one UOCAVA ballot and five civilian absentee ballots. Elections staff member Kenny Rhyne ran the six accepted ballots through the county’s DS200 scanner, increasing the publicly displayed count from 18 to 24.
Dr. James Walsh offered public comment at the meeting and thanked the board and staff, saying they had "talked to the community to explain things to them," according to the meeting record.
Rhonda Dautrich made the first motion to approve the meeting agenda, which the board approved 4-0. When the daughter of one absentee voter asked that her mother’s ballot be removed, Linda Walker moved to remove the ballot; the board approved that motion 4-0 and each board member signed the removal. The record does not indicate a motion sponsor for the acceptance of the UOCAVA and the five civilian absentee ballots; the minutes state the board "accepted" and "approved" those ballots and ran them through the DS200.
Kenny Rhyne presented a list of additional poll workers for the March 3, 2026 primary. Linda Walker moved to approve the list; the motion passed 4-0. Donna Wojcik moved to adjourn at 10:30 A.M., and the board voted 4-0 to adjourn.
The board’s actions on absentee ballots and the poll-worker list were recorded in the meeting minutes submitted by Donna Wojcik, secretary. The minutes do not record any dissenting votes or additional conditions attached to the approvals.
