While the legal battle over last year鈥檚 N.C. Supreme Court election is now settled, it鈥檚 not the last unresolved election contest remaining in North Carolina.
A legal dispute over the 2023 election for mayor of the Robeson County town of Pembroke is still dragging on, heading now to the N.C. Court of Appeals.
The appeals court recently extended an order blocking elections officials from certifying the results 鈥� which means the losing candidate, incumbent Mayor Gregory Cummings, is continuing to serve in the role more than 18 months after he appears to have lost his re-election bid.
鈥淭he incumbent mayor has appealed at every turn to try to keep his election protest alive,鈥� said Hart Miles, an attorney for Allen Dial, the mayoral candidate who county and state elections officials say won by 19 votes in November 2023. 鈥淚t's an extraordinarily long period of time for this legal process to play out.鈥�
Cummings is challenging the eligibility of 16 voters to participate in the local election. He says they registered to vote just a month before the election with assistance from Dial, who was allowing them to live rent-free in tents on commercial property he owns.
Neither Cummings nor his attorney, Jonathan Charleston, responded to inquiries from 深夜福利, but they argued in court filings that Dial鈥檚 actions and those of the voters amount to enough 鈥渇raud, improprieties and irregularities鈥� for the state to order a new election.
Both the State Board of Elections and a Wake County Superior Court judge determined that the allegations wouldn鈥檛 affect the outcome of the race. Invalidating the 16 votes in question would simply leave Dial with a three-vote victory.
People who are homeless are allowed to vote in North Carolina, and the state鈥檚 voter registration form even includes the option to draw a map showing 鈥渨here you live or normally sleep鈥� rather than listing a formal street address.
Cummings hired a private investigator to review whether the voters were legitimate residents of Pembroke. The mayor鈥檚 attorney didn鈥檛 provide any evidence that the voters lived elsewhere at the time of the election, but he did take issue with the voters鈥� statements about their residency being notarized by Dial鈥檚 daughters 鈥� which they allege is a conflict of interest.
鈥淩obeson County has a history of voting irregularities, and the State Board has the responsibility to ensure that elections are determined without taint of fraud or corruption,鈥� Cummings鈥� attorney wrote in a legal filing, comparing the case to the 2018 voter fraud case in nearby Bladen County鈥檚 9th Congressional District race. Evidence of fraudulent absentee ballots led to a new election in that race.
It鈥檚 not the first time that Cummings and Dial have faced off in Pembroke and disputed the election results. The 2015 election between the two men resulted in charges of vote-buying, and the state ordered a do-over of that election.
But it鈥檚 unusual for an election dispute to drag on for more than a year after Election Day. Some worry that in the wake of Judge Jefferson Griffin鈥檚 legal challenge to tens of thousands of voters in last year鈥檚 Supreme Court contest, more losing candidates could pursue drawn-out legal challenges.
That could advantage incumbents, whose terms are extended when elections for a new term aren鈥檛 certified. In the Supreme Court case, that meant Democratic Justice Allison Riggs continued to serve on the high court until she was formally sworn in this month after Griffin conceded.
Much like the Griffin-Riggs case, there鈥檚 a partisan dimension to the dispute, although municipal races in Robeson County are officially nonpartisan. Dial is a registered Democrat, while Cummings is a registered Republican.
The N.C. Democratic Party says the Pembroke case is concerning. "I believe everyone should be outraged,鈥� spokeswoman Amanda Fitzpatrick said. 鈥淲e are confident that, despite the Republicans' ongoing commitment to ignore the election results, the courts will uphold (elections board) decisions. The GOP and its leaders are making a habit of disregarding the will of the voters. We鈥檒l be making sure people remember that in future elections.鈥�
It鈥檚 unclear how quickly the Republican-majority Court of Appeals, which sided with Griffin in a decision that was overturned by a federal court judge, might rule on the Pembroke mayoral race. And if the case is appealed to the N.C. Supreme Court 鈥� or beyond 鈥� it could drag on for months more.
That would mean that even if Dial ultimately wins, his four-year term could be cut in half.
鈥�(Dial) was excited about being mayor, and so it's certainly been frustrating,鈥� Miles said. 鈥淢r. Cummings had his opportunity for a hearing, had his opportunity to present any compelling evidence that there were illegal votes cast, and from our side of things, he failed.鈥�
Pembroke is a town of 2,800 people that鈥檚 home to the headquarters of the Lumbee Tribe and UNC-Pembroke. Both Cummings and Dial are Lumbee. Voter turnout in 2023 was relatively low, with 197 votes cast for Dial and 178 for Cummings. According to the final State Board of Elections tally, two other voters cast write-in votes. Both were for Minnie Mouse.
