SALISBURY — Rowan County’s vote count from last week’s primary is now final, and the 299 ballots added didn’t change any of the races.
The Rowan County Board of Elections certified the results of the May 8 primary Tuesday morning in a brief official canvass. The board counted six more mail-in absentee ballots, along with 306 provisional ballots — those set aside at the polls if there’s a question about the voter’s eligibility.
In the races for county commissioner, top Republican vote-getters Gus Andrews and Gene Miller are headed to a runoff with the next two finishers, Mike Caskey and Craig Pierce.
As the first-place finisher among the Democrats, Leda Belk still has enough votes to secure one of two spots on the fall ballot. Ralph Walton, who came in second, officially will face a runoff with Corey Hill.
The winners of the July 17 second primary will compete for two open seats on the Board of Commissioners in the Nov. 6 general election.
To avoid a runoff in the primary, candidates must get 40 percent of the total votes plus one, divided by the number of seats available. This year, commissioner candidates had to receive at least 20 percent of the vote.
Both Andrews and Belk are former commissioners, and both Walton and Belk are retired educators.
Miller is assistant superintendent of Rowan-Salisbury Schools. Caskey currently serves on that system’s school board, and the Kannapolis resident is the only candidate remaining who does not have a Salisbury address.
Pierce owns Pierce Interiors and Construction in Salisbury. Hill is a local union president at Daimler Trucks North America in Cleveland.
After the official canvass Tuesday, none of the commissioners’ candidate placements changed. Here are the final vote totals for Rowan County races in the May 8 primary:
Rowan County Commissioner — Republicans
• Gus Andrews, 5,808
• Gene Miller, 5,203
• Mike Caskey, 4,687
• Craig Pierce, 4,420
• Mac Butner, 3,083
• Laura Eller Hutchison, 2,833
• Carl Dangerfield, 2,376
• Joel Johnson, 1,254
• William “Bill” Feather, 1,168
Rowan County Commissioner — Democrats
• Leda Shuping Belk, 3,961
• Ralph M. Walton, 2,536
• Corey Hill, 2,399
• Thomas J. “Jack” Eller, 2,155
• Carrol Crawford, 1,901
• Travis Summitt, 1,577