Recount scheduled in Bladen County Commission race

ELIZABETHTOWN, N.C. (WECT) - There will be a few more procedural steps before the official winner of the Bladen County Commission District 3 race is known.

As of Election Night and after the remaining absentee and provisional ballots came in, incumbent Democrat Russell Priest maintains his lead of just four votes over Republican challenger Wayne Edge, with each candidate getting 676 and 672 votes, respectively.

Edge, according to a Bladen County elections official, asked for a recount.

The Bladen County Board of Elections will hold a meeting Friday, May 24 at 11 a.m. to canvass the results from the May 14 election. At 1 p.m., the board will hold the recount in the Priest/Edge contest.

The new election was the result of a unanimous decision in February by the North Carolina State Board of Elections to call for new races in three contests after evidence of election fraud was found in Bladen and Robeson counties.

During that investigation, Edge submitted a letter saying he supported the unofficial results from the November 2018 race, where Priest looked to have won by 234 votes.

Catch up on our coverage of the investigation into election fraud

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