A sample hand-to-eye recount in North Carolina Senate District 26 found no discrepancies, leaving Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page’s narrow lead intact.
Election officials conducted a partial hand recount of 1,340 ballots from three randomly chosen precincts — two in Guilford and one in Rockingham.
Under state law, Senate Leader Phil Berger needed a net gain of two votes in the sample recount to trigger a full hand-to-eye recount of all ballots cast in the race. The sample recount resulted in no change in the vote count, leaving Page ahead of Berger by 23 votes.
In response to the outcome, Page’s post-election advisor, Patrick Sebastian, said, “After these ballots have been counted three times, the result remains exactly the same — Sam Page defeated Phil Berger. It’s time for Senator Berger to give his complete and total concession.”
Before the partial hand recount, election officials conducted a full machine recount of all ballots, which did not alter the margin between the candidates.
After the machine recount, a trailing candidate in NC may request a partial hand-to-eye recount of a random sample of precincts. If the sample results indicate discrepancies, in this case two votes, large enough to alter the district-wide outcome, the State Board of Elections must order a full hand-to-eye recount.
The race between Berger and Page remains one of the closest in recent North Carolina election history. Berger, R-Rockingham, has served as Senate president pro tempore since 2011 and has been a central architect of the GOP-led legislature’s policy agenda for more than a decade. Page, who has served as Rockingham County sheriff since 1998 and previously led the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association, mounted a challenge centered on local issues and public safety.
Berger’s campaign has already filed election protests in both Guilford and Rockingham counties, raising concerns about ballot issues, including claims that some voters may have received incorrect ballots or that certain votes were not counted in the race.
Hearings on the protests are scheduled in the coming days. The Rockingham County Board of Elections will meet on Friday, March 27, followed by the Guilford County Board on April 6. Such concerns could form the basis of further legal action as the contest progresses beyond the recount.
Under state election procedures, recounts are a standard part of close races and rarely shift outcomes by more than a few votes.
Certification of the race will take place after all pending protests are resolved and hearings conclude.