One sign of defective election software in North Carolina is a Republican victory, and so it was in Polk County.

A protest was lodged against the Polk County Board of Elections by three Republicans running for a seat on the board of commissioners, Ted Owens, Tom Pack, and David Moore. In a formal hearing, the board of elections found itself not guilty. The glitch made it look like Owens had won, but it was fixed – er, corrected. The following is excerpted from the Tryon Daily Bulletin:

[The Republicans] questioned whether some people had been allowed to vote twice in some of the precincts, whether some election machines were unsealed and whether provisional votes were accurately counted. They also questioned why election results were incorrect on election night, and had to be revised the next day after a state elections official provided assistance. . . .

[Polk County Elections Director Dale] Edwards explained that there was confusion about the results on election night, and she returned to the elections office, along with elections board chair Becky Kennedy, to double check results. She rebooted the reporting computer, she says, but was unable to resolve problems with printing the final results. After being up for 23 hours, she says, she finally decided to go home and return in the morning to discuss the issue with state elections officials. . . .

Owens, an incumbent who lost by just six votes, expressed frustration that he was not contacted sooner when election officials realized there were reporting problems. Based on initial results, Owens thought he had finished second and he secured one of three open commissioner seats. But he learned the next day that he had finished fourth, just behind Democrat Ray Gasperson.