Hand-to-eye now requested
Debra "Hank" Dinschel
Robbinsville – There’s still one step left before the second Graham County Board of Education seat from the Nov. 8 ballot is set in stone.
Clark “Chip” Carringer convincingly won the public’s opinion over three weeks ago, as his re-election bid garnered 2,368 votes. Carringer looks to continue his service as the school board’s vice chairman.
However, exactly who would join Carringer, Chairman Rodney Nelson, and board members Jonathan Allison and Pam Knott – all Republicans – has sauntered through a lengthy stint of purgatory.
Incumbent Shane Garland (D) was ousted from his only term on the board Nov. 8, after picking up just 1,296 votes. In the hunt to replace Garland is Republican Debra “Hank” Dinschel and Democrat Maria Shook, and the pursuit has been a roller coaster since election night.
Shook emerged with a 1,432-1,431 advantage over Dinschel after the general election, but final absentees – counted after the general election, but required to be postmarked by Nov. 8 – led to a 1,434-1,434 stalemate. Six provisionals recorded Nov. 17 ultimately gave Dinschel a 1,436-1,435 win.
Well within her rights as a candidate, Shook requested a recount. The Graham County Board of Elections fulfilled the duty Monday, feeding all ballots back through voting machines across a nearly four-hour session.
The outcome did not change, but Shook has one last appeal: a hand-to-eye recount. The tedious process will play out exactly as it sounds, which will see poll workers tally ballots by hand, one by one, to see if any discrepancies arise that the M100 machines did not catch.
The Graham Star received confirmation Tuesday morning that the hand-to-eye recount would begin at 3 p.m. Friday at the election office’s new location in the Graham County Community Building, 196 Knight St., Suite A.