Recount ordered in T.C. mixed drink referendum

By DEUCE NIVEN

    Ballots in Tabor City’s mixed drink referendum will be counted again next week, the Columbus County Board of Elections ruled Tuesday.
    That referendum failed by one vote in the canvas of the Nov. 5 election, with a single provisional ballot breaking what had been a 133-133 election-day tie.
    Tabor City government, which asked for the referendum earlier in the summer but never staked out a position on its outcome, filed the request for a recount. Town manager Al Leonard said council had only one concern.
    “Our council never advocated one position or the other on this election,” Leonard said. “It’s our intent that the will of the people prevail. With the vote this close, we felt like it was worth solidifying what the will of the people exactly is.”
    Board of Elections Supervisor Carla Strickland said that recount will likely be held Monday, at a time convenient to three poll workers who will be asked to conduct the recount.
    A second recount has been called in the Chadbourn Town Council race, where David Worley’s lead James Greene for the second of two council seats narrowed from six votes to two, 182-18, during Tuesday’s canvas, Strickland said. That count will also take place next week.
    Look for more on the Tabor City mixed drink vote in the Nov. 13 Tabor-Loris Tribune print edition.