Close vote for fourth Chapel Hill seat

Provisional ballots alone will not change outcome between Czajkowksi and Hill

By Carrie Crespo
Posted at 4:30 p.m. (Nov. 7, 2007)

A mere eight votes is the lowest possible difference between Chapel Hill Town Council incumbent Cam Hill and challenger Matt Czajkowski for the final spot on the council.

Tuesday night's unofficial election results showed Czajkowski inching past with 2,907 votes versus Hill's 2,844, but provisional ballots have yet to be counted.

But whatever the provisional vote tally, it won't be enough to change the outcome.

According to Barry Garner, director of elections at the Orange County Board of Elections, only 55 of the 66 provisional ballots were recommended to be counted. Even if they all fall to Hill, which is unlikely, it wouldn't be enough to surpass Czajkowski's 63-vote lead.

Provisional ballots are for those voters with questions regarding their voting eligibility. This includes those who show up at a precinct and are not listed on the electoral roll or are told they are not registered in Orange County.

According to the Orange County Board of Elections Web site, "No person should be denied the right to vote a provisional ballot," but they might not all be approved.

The official count will take place on Friday with final results posted on Tuesday, Nov. 13.

But it may not be over just yet for Hill.

According to North Carolina General Statutes, if the difference between the fourth and the fifth place candidates is less than one percent of the votes cast for the two candidates in question, the fifth place candidate is allowed an opportunity to ask for a recount.

As of Wednesday Afternoon, Hill had not yet submitted a request. He must submit a written document within 48 hours after the vote canvas, which will be Nov. 13.

Throughout the evening, the numbers flip-flopped between the two candidates as each precinct displayed results.

Only one problem was encountered during the election process. The polls at Weaver Dairy Satellite counted every vote across the board as double. The error was quickly caught and corrected bearing no consequences on the results.

Winning spots on the council were incumbents Jim Ward and Bill Strom, both returning for their third terms, and Sally Greene, returning for her second term. Mayor Kevin Foy will return for his fourth term.

Less than 18 percent of eligible voters cast ballots in the election.

About the project

The UNC-Chapel Hill School of Journalism and Mass Communication, in an effort to encourage cooperation across sequences and courses, brought together four classes during the fall 2007 semester to cover Orange County, Carrboro and Chapel Hill elections.

Participating in the project were students from Leroy Towns' political reporting class, Jock Lauterer's community journalism class, Ryan Thornburg's online newswriting and editing class, and Andy Bechtel's copy editing class.

Leading up to the election Nov. 6, reporting students covered local issues and races through different media including print, audio and video. For election night, student journalists stepped out of the classroom/newsroom to document the results and reactions to the local 2007 election.  Like professional journalists, students worked with real deadlines and filed their stories for editing and posting to a special JOMC Web site.

The election 2007 project allowed students to gain knowledge and refine their skills in the traditional form of journalism, while also cultivating skills in 'new' media such as online news and blogging.