In NC, the Messy Election Isn't Over

While Americans have known for two weeks who their next president will be, residents of North Carolina still have no idea about their next governor. The Washington Post describes the mess: Incumbent Republican Pat McCrory led Democratic challenger Roy Cooper by 4,000 votes with 4.2 million cast on election night. Since then, however, Cooper has pulled ahead by 6,500 votes, according to the State Board of Elections. Assuming his victory, Cooper—the current state's attorney general—announced Monday that he's forming his transition team. But McCrory—aware that he could become the only governor not to win re-election this year—isn't ready to concede and is alleging voter fraud.

“Why is Roy Cooper so insistent on circumventing the electoral process and counting the votes of dead people and felons? It may be because he needs those fraudulent votes to count in order to win,” says a spokesman for McCrory’s campaign, which is supporting formal challenges to votes in dozens of counties. Cooper, meanwhile, says it's "irresponsible" of McCrory to prevent him from getting to work. But even the resolution of all challenges won't necessarily mean the end of the dispute, notes the Post. A recount can be requested if less than 10,000 votes separate the two candidates in the final tally. (More North Carolina stories.)