Monroe mayoral race leaders separated by single vote

MONROE, N.C. — If you need proof that every vote matters, look no further than the race for mayor in Monroe. So far, the two leading candidates are separated by a single vote in the unofficial results.

“One vote,” said Robert Burns with a shake of his head.

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The father of six and small business owner, who says he ran as a conservative to represent Christian values, is currently trailing by that one vote.

“It proves more than anything that your vote matters,” said Burns. “It’s shocking how many people don’t realize how much your voice matters. And that’s the beauty of our democracy – that it absolutely does.”

The candidate in the lead is Bob Yanacsek, a retired Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer who also runs a small business. He said he ran to represent voters and didn’t take any outside money because he didn’t want to be beholden to anyone.

“Whether I win or lose, I think the fact that people always say my vote doesn’t count – this is a perfect According to Union County elections officials, there are two absentee ballots that were received by the Election Day deadline that are not part of the current vote count. There are also still 17 absentee ballots outstanding in the mayoral race that could count if they are postmarked no later than Election Day and received in the election’s office by Monday, Nov. 13. That deadline is typically three days after Election Day but because that falls on the recognized holiday for Veterans Day this year, the deadline is Monday. Those ballots are from the city of Monroe voters who live locally or somewhere in the U.S. but opted to receive an absentee ballot to vote-by-mail. Military and overseas voters had to have their ballots into the election’s office by 7:30 p.m. on Election Night.

VIDEO: In four local contests, the races are too close to call

In four local contests, the races are too close to call

Union County elections officials said there were also about 300 provisional ballots cast countywide but at this point, they are unclear how many of them were cast by voters who live in the city of Monroe and are therefore eligible to vote in the mayoral race. Staffers are researching those ballots and their eligibility and will determine whether they count during the official canvass of the results on Friday, Nov. 17.

Election results be certified after the canvass.

In an era when vote-by-mail and provisional ballots have been attacked by political candidates on the national stage, both mayoral candidates in Monroe said they will accept the outcome.

“The Board of Elections – these are top-notch people,” said Burns. “I trust their process. They’ve answered all my questions. I always felt like they weren’t leaning one side or the other. You can trust these results from them.”

“I have 100% confidence in the Board of Elections,” said Yanacsek.

While it’s unlikely given how many votes are still outstanding, if the election ends in a tie, it would be decided by the flip of a coin.

“Heads – I’d do heads. If that’s even an option,” laughed Burns. “I don’t know – is it a literal coin toss? Do you see it fly up in the air? Do we all stand around and cheer? If that’s how we do things around here then OK, I signed up for it.”

Union County Board of Elections Deputy Director Phillip Hinson isn’t sure either.

“We’ve never seen that,” said Hinson. “That would definitely be a new development for us. I’m not sure how that works, who would flip the coin. If you call it in the air. I’m not clear on that, but that’s the remedy for a tie in a municipal election [in North Carolina].”

“A coin flip, of all things,” said Burns, who is hoping to make up his one-vote deficit among the outstanding ballots. “When I heard that, I literally thought it was a joke to be honest. I have mixed emotions – I think that the people are due a recount. But if that’s the law of the land, I’ll go by that and accept the results of that.”

“I’d like for it to be based on votes,” said Yanacsek, who is hoping to keep his one-vote lead. “Elections are handled by the county, and the funding is all predetermined, so you can’t have a runoff -- there’s just no way to fund it.”

Hinson told Channel 9 if the election results are within 1% of the votes cast, the second-place finisher can request a recount. All the ballots would then be fed through the ballot machines again, though there are provisions for hand recounting, Hinson said.

It’s an especially tight result -- but not uncommon on the local level, Hinson said.

“Your local elections have the biggest impact on you,” said Yanacsek. “Schools, roads, sidewalks, police, fire, medics ... day-to-day, quality-of-life stuff that matters every day compared to the national election.”