2+ hour, 6+ min ago (366+ words) CARTERET COUNTY, N.C. (WITN) - In a show of hands, the Carteret County Board of Elections has decided to send the Morehead City election protest to Raleigh for further review. "It was a hard decision, but we were not placed on this board to make easy decisions," Carteret County Board of Elections chair Jeanette Deese said. The board voted 3-2 in favor of finding "substantial evidence" or potential voting irregularities during the board's evidentiary hearing at the Carteret County Courthouse Monday morning. Incumbent Mayor Jerry Jones filed the election protest hearing. Monday's hearing consists of testimonies from voters who claim they were turned away on election day. "I know people are going to try to twist this around, but it's not about me, and it's not about my opponent, Lee Stiles. This is about the right to vote," Jones said. Witnesses took the…...

1+ hour, 16+ min ago (322+ words) KINSTON, N.C. (WITN) - Formal hearings for protests filed against councilman-elect Les Lipford and mayor-elect Kareem Moore were held on Monday at the Lenoir County Board of Elections, after protests were filed alleging they didn't live within city limits. Both protests were dismissed. Moore's protest brought by Maria President was dismissed by the board due to her not being in attendance at the meeting. But it is possible that she can refile again. Moore's campaign team is calling on the board to certify his election, saying that it is inconsistent with state law for the board to be holding up his certification when there is no evidence provided in the filed protest that he lives outside of city limits. The meeting continued with Lenoir County GOP Chairman Sean Keenan providing evidence in support of his amended protest filed against councilman-elect Les Lipford,…...