In accordance with NCGS § 163-182.5, the Buncombe County Board of Elections (BOE) met today to complete the certification of votes cast during the 2026 Primary Election. Results on Election night are unofficial; canvass is the official process of determining whether all the votes have been counted and tabulated correctly, resulting in the authentication of the official election results. The BOE met to review administrative challenges, present the audits for all voting types, and give the Board the opportunity to inspect results before certifying.

For close elections, the canvass period is especially important. During this time, election officials count timely absentee ballots and research provisional ballots. These votes are added to the unofficial results that were released on Election night.  

In total, 30,772 ballots were cast during Early Voting and 23,267 on Election Day, March 3. Almost 26% of eligible voters in Buncombe County voted in this election.

Provisional ballots cast during the election must be researched to determine voter eligibility. Examples of why voters may have voted provisionally are if they didn’t have photo ID, if there are questions about registration, or voters went to the wrong polling location. After research, ballots determined to be cast by eligible voters will be added to the results during the canvass period. Across the county, 304 provisional ballots were cast, and of those 129 were disapproved for various reasons including unregistered voters or those that voted their incorrect party ballot.  

Absentee ballots made up 1.5% of the total votes with 831 mail-in ballots received before the Election Day deadline. Absentee ballots were made up of 88% civilian, 1 % military, and 11% overseas voters. 192 absentee ballots were disallowed, including 181 received after the deadline. The United States Postal Service delivered 181 mailed absentee ballots to Buncombe County Election Services after the Election Day deadline. Due to a 2023 change in North Carolina election law, ballots received after 7:30 p.m. on Election Day cannot be counted regardless of the postmark. Election Services staff checked with USPS staff three times on Tuesday, March 3 (including just prior to closure) and received two ballots total, and again on Wednesday, March 4 with no ballots received. There were no races in Buncombe County where results were more narrow than the number of ballots received following the deadline. Voters who voted provisionally or via mail-in ballot can check their status using the Voter Search Tool after the election is certified by the State Board of Election March 25.

A Sample Audit was completed on Monday, March 9, two precincts were randomly selected by the State Board of Elections. These were hand tallied and compared to machines counts. The hand tally matched the machine counts for both precincts and this information was reported to the State Board of Elections.

“The work that goes into certifying an election is labor intensive and important. Our staff worked tirelessly, adapted to changes, and met all deadlines,” says Election Services Director Corinne Duncan. “The process continues to go more and more smoothly each election.”

The Board of Elections voted to certify the election results at 12:28 p.m. Official results are submitted to the State Board and can be found at buncombenc.gov/vote. The next meeting of the Buncombe County Board of Elections will take place on April 14 at 3:30 p.m. in the 35 Woodfin St. Board Room.