NC Board of Elections denies challenge to judicial candidate’s residency

ALEXANDER COUNTY, N.C. — After an investigation, the North Carolina State Board of Elections has denied a challenge to a judicial candidate’s residency.

The board appointed a panel to investigate where Melissa Stewart, a candidate for Alexander County and Iredell County, officially lives.

A voter in Alexander County filed a complaint with the state claiming the district court candidate is not a full-time resident there. According to the complaint, Stewart’s landlord said she only stays in Alexander County seven days a month when she is on-call as a magistrate.

Officials from Alexander and Iredell counties investigated.

“The state board is required to appoint this panel within two business days after the challenge is filed,” said Paul Cox, an attorney with the NCSBE. “Challenges were filed yesterday.”

Stewart emailed Channel 9 government reporter Joe Bruno to say the candidate challenge was filed by a friend of her opponent.

She says she has lived in Alexander County for more than four years and looks forward to defending herself.

On Thursday, Steward told Bruno she won the challenge in a unanimous decision by the Board of Elections.

“The challenge that was filed by the friend of the opposing candidate was a frivolous claim,” she told Bruno.

Editor’s note - A previous version of this article said Stewart was a life long resident of Alexander County. She has lived there for over four years.

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