The Lenoir County Board of Elections convened its regular meeting on September 7, 2023, at the Elections Office, as part of their monthly schedule of meetings on the first Thursday of each month at 5 pm. The board members include Courtney M. Patterson (Chairman), Ella Clark (Secretary), Tommy Pharo, Marietta Jenkins, and Lucinda Minges.

During the meeting, a challenge to the candidacy of Mike Horne, who is running against Pink Hill Mayor Yvonne Deatherage, was addressed. Deatherage alleged that Horne does not meet the residency requirements to run for office in Lenoir County.

Horne was represented by David Fillippeli, who presented documentation related to North Carolina Statutes concerning challenges to candidate eligibility. According to these statutes, Deatherage's challenge was filed after the specified deadline of 10-business days following the end of the filing period.

Deatherage argued that she received incorrect information from the Lenoir County Board of Elections, which led her to believe she could proceed with the challenge despite the statutory deadline.

Chairman Courtney M. Patterson expressed support for allowing the hearing to proceed due to the discrepancy in information provided to Deatherage.

A motion was made during the meeting to not hold the hearing, citing the untimely submission of the challenge. The initial vote resulted in a tie, with two members in favor and two against. To break the tie, a call was placed to the fifth board member who was not physically present at the meeting.

Both Deatherage and Horne presented their arguments to Lucinda Minges via telephone. Following these presentations, another motion was made to dismiss the challenge, asserting that it had not been made in a timely manner. This time, the vote passed by a margin of 4 to 1, with Chairman Patterson as the sole dissenting vote.

Therefore Horne will be on the Pink Hill ballot on Election Day, November 7, 2023, as a challenger to appointed Mayor Yvonne Deatherage. Please note Pink Hill will not hold early voting, so voting will only occur on Election Day.

For all Lenoir and Greene Counties election coverage, join Neuse News Election night Results Show presented by Brooks Poole, Realtor at 7:30pm on November 7, 2023.