Burke County voters show up in force; Republicans maintain stronghold

The equipment had been tested and certified weeks earlier.

Polling station volunteers had a final briefing about the process and guidelines and prepared for a 14-hour day on station and helping voters.

What could have been a disruption in the process was efficiently avoided when FEMA stepped in with a utility tent and furnishings to replace the Upper Creek precinct station that was damaged in Hurricane Helene. That station is on Brown Mountain Beach Road in northern Burke County.

Polls opened Tuesday at 7:30 a.m. to gray skies and a light drizzle that persisted most of the day. Poll workers and volunteers carried umbrellas and wore raincoats as they talked with voters entering the precincts.

Record-breaking early voting turnout that saw 60.5% of Burke’s 61,075 registered voters cast ballots resulted in Election Day activity that was steady and evenly paced. By the time polls closed, 75.5% of registered voters participated in the election. This included 1,463 absentee ballots.

The only glitch in the system surfaced early in the morning when the laptop computer at the Pilot Mountain precinct on U.S. 64 south of Morganton failed to boot up. It was quickly resolved, but delayed closing of that polling station by 30 minutes. That delay slowed considerably the posting of official tallies on the N.C. Board of Elections dashboard until nearly 11 p.m.

FEW SURPRISES

Few residents were surprised by the outcome locally. Republican candidates swept the local offices, preserving Republican control of both the Burke County Commissioners and the Burke County Board of Education. Burke has been a Republican-dominated county for the entire 21st Century.

That said, election watchers did mention three surprises that stood out: that N.C. Governor candidate Republican Mark Robinson garnered 59% of Burke’s vote, surpassing the statewide victor Josh Stein by about 10,000 local votes; that the proposed local sales and use tax referendum was defeated three to one; and that school board candidate (and former chairman) Don Hemstreet, an Unaffiliated candidate, was so soundly defeated when he lost two to one to challenger Sonya Rockett, a Republican.

Among the winners in Tuesday’s election was Burke County Commissioner candidate Mike Stroud. He will be a new face on the board when he takes the oath of office in December.

Of the four candidates vying for three seats on the board, Stroud was the top vote getter with 30.4% (28,793) of the vote.

“I’m excited to have a chance to serve in a public service capacity,” Stroud said, wearing his trademark sunglasses atop his head. “That’s what I love more than anything and that’s what people know me for — my commitment to people and serving people.”

Also winning a seat on the Board of Commissioners was newcomer Brian Barrier, who won 26.6% (25,248) of the vote. Striking a chord repeated during his campaign, Barrier said he was ready to “do what the citizens of the county want done, and not what a small group of people want done.”

Current Commissioner Chairman Jeff Brittain successfully sought a fourth term by winning reelection with 28.1% (26,688) of the vote.

“We’re looking forward to moving forward the animal services and EMS buildings; those are two big projects that we’ve been working on for quite some time, and we’re glad to see those finally coming to fruition,” Brittain said.

Challenger Wesley E. Hendrix, a Democrat, failed in his bid to secure a seat. He won 14.7% (13,974) of the vote.

There were four slots up for grabs on the Burke County Board of Education.

In the Central District, Sonya Rockett defeated Hemstreet 28,011 votes to 14,003.

“The first order of business will be learning what my role is as a board member,” Rockett said. “Until you are really in position, you really don’t know what you’ll be called to do or how it works.”

Republican Jamey Wycoff and Democrat Sharon Ivester Everhart competed for the Board of Education At-Large seat. Wycoff won with 69% (30,361) of the vote.

“Very appreciative to be elected as representative of the county … of the people. I’ve had a lot of support, a lot of people working the polls to help me,” Wycoff said. “I’m very appreciative of all of it and I look forward to working with Dr. Swan and the rest of the administration and get started on Day One.”

In the other Board of Education contests, Jeffery Reid Beck, Eastern District, and Brad Camp, Western District, ran unopposed.

Burke residents voted against a quarter-cent sales tax on most goods and services. There were no state restrictions on how Burke County could use the funds. The final vote was 77.4% (33,061) against and 22.5% (9,602) in favor.

Shortly after all the polls closed Tuesday night, Burke County Board of Elections Director Kenny Rhyne dispatched crews to lock up the voting equipment in the red cages and bring them back to his headquarters in the Continuing Education building on Sterling Street in Morganton.

Upon delivery, his team began the process of verifying data and uploading results to the state board in Raleigh for official posting. The last upload was at 10:54 p.m., according to the state Election Dashboard.