Gaston count took extra care

After November flaws, board worked to ensure vote tally was accurate

KAREN CIMINO   Charlotte Observer   13 February 2005

It didn't matter how long it took, they just had to get it right this time.

Gaston County Board of Elections officials took about three hours Tuesday to count fewer than 2,000 votes from alcohol referendums in Dallas and Stanley. They said they wanted to be certain mistakes from the Nov. 2 election weren't repeated.

Around 10 p.m. they called it: Dallas, yes, and Stanley, no, to alcohol sales.

Election workers said they felt better about this one. In November, the Board of Elections failed to count more than 13,000 votes, including 1,200 from a Dallas precinct and about 12,000 early votes. They also didn't have an equal number of ballots for the number of voters that turned out, according to precinct rolls.

That botched election led to the resignation of Board of Elections Director Sandra Page and board Chairman Tony Branch in December and shook public confidence in local election results. Tuesday's vote was the first election since then.

To Mary Jane Garver, the acting director, it was an opportunity to earn back some of the public confidence lost last year.

"It's our first time and if there was any pressure, it was that," Garver said. "I wanted to do it right to honor Sandra (Page)."

Garver has worked for the Board of Elections for 13 years and was deputy director under Page.

She said one of the two Stanley precincts in Tuesday's vote submitted ballots around 10 p.m., the latest of the four polling sites. That site had 434 ballots to count.

"They were just very careful. They took their time," Garver said.

And that's what she wanted them to do. Garver used 36 poll workers, counting votes by hand. The Board of Elections left the county's electronic voting machines in storage last week and pulled out paper ballots instead because they cost less.

Gaston County commissioners have criticized the Board of Elections for going $115,000 over budget on the presidential election without notifying the county until after the election.

Garver said using paper ballots saved about $6,000. The Dallas referendum cost about $2,860 for two precincts compared with $2,630 for one precinct in Lowell's alcohol referendum. Stanley's referendum cost $2,865 for two precincts. The towns paid the cost.

While Tuesday's election was important, November's election will be the true test. Gaston County Board of Elections will handle municipal elections in 13 towns and cities in November. Gastonia, Mount Holly and Belmont are among the towns that will elect new city officials this year.

Before then, the elections office needs a new director. Garver said she does not want to fill the position permanently. She said a new director likely will be in place by April. Last week, Mozelle Cathcart was appointed to the open board seat by the Gaston County Democratic Party.

The Gaston County Board of Elections has until Tuesday to fix any errors in Tuesday's results. Then they become final.