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Buncombe County election board disapproves 191 absentee ballots, flags postmark gaps and schedules canvas
Summary
At a March 12 meeting, the Buncombe County Board of Elections disapproved 191 absentee ballots, approved 26 supplemental military/overseas ballots and discussed 181 ballots received after the deadline, including 58 with no postmark and 132 that arrived March 5. The board set a canvas for the following morning.
The Buncombe County Board of Elections on March 12 voted to disapprove 191 absentee ballots and approved a supplemental list of 26 military and overseas ballots, while staff briefed members on a larger set of late-returned ballots and gaps in postmark data that the board forwarded to state officials and the U.S. Postal Service.
Board members moved quickly through routine business at the meeting and then heard from staff about a post-election sample audit and timelines for the next day’s canvas. Staff told the board that two randomly selected precincts used in the sample audit were hand-tallied and matched the machine tallies.
Aaron (elections staff) presented the board with a set of ballots the office had entered as returned after the deadline. He reported 181 ballots that arrived after the normal 7:30 p.m. election-night cutoff; of those, staff said 132 arrived on March 5. Staff also said 58 return envelopes lacked a postmark. The board entered the late-returned ballots in their system as returned after the deadline and compiled the data for the North Carolina State Board of Elections and a Postal Service field representative.
Board members discussed voter education and outreach to reduce late mail returns in future elections. Several members suggested more prominent placement of deadline information on the county website, expanded press outreach and earlier reminders tied to the absentee-request deadline. One member urged contacting the postmaster and the state board for a statewide tally of similar late returns.
The board then considered a full disapproval list. After staff described that list (which included ballots with uncurable witness issues and one that remained in cure-pending status), a motion to disapprove the 191 ballots was made and approved by voice vote.
The board next approved a supplemental list limited to two military and 24 overseas ballots; members signed the supplemental abstract and the oath paperwork. Dr. Glenda Winer, chair of the Buncombe County Board of Elections, certified the list of executed military and overseas ballots and cited GS 163-231B as the statutory authority governing timing and certification for the March 3, 2026 election.
Before adjourning, staff provided an overview of the canvas sequence scheduled for the following morning: challenge hearings; audit summaries by managers for provisional, absentee, early and election-day voting; printing and review of reports; a brief recess while reports are printed; and then certification and signing of abstracts. The board reconvened its final signings, sealed materials and adjourned. The canvas meeting was scheduled for 11 a.m. the next day.
The county’s staff said they will provide additional detail at the canvas meeting, including fuller counts and clarifications on the number of absentee ballots issued; the transcript contains conflicting spoken references to that number. The office also reported that some voters who requested absentee ballots voted in person and that staff will return with more comprehensive reporting at the next meeting.
