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- Ralph Kersey
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- Shep Jones
Staff report
RALEIGH — In a meeting today in Raleigh, the North Carolina Board of Elections has upheld the Scotland County Board of Elections decision to dismiss a protest filed by Sheriff Shep Jones.
Jones, a Democrat, lost to Republican Ralph Kersey in the Nov. 4 general election. Kersey earned 5,330 votes to 5,092 votes for Jones — a difference of only 238 votes. Jones alleged that Kersey had bought those votes and filed a protest with the local elections board. It’s not immediately known if Jones will appeal the state board’s decision to a Wake County court.
The county board dismissed Jones’ complaint because it “contains general allegations of purported misconduct, but does not provide the names, addresses and phone numbers of witnesses to the alleged misconduct; further, it does not specific what each (witness) saw or knew,” according to official documents. “(Jones) has not presented adequate facts or evidence to this board to support a finding of probable cause to proceed to a hearing.”
Jones was first elected to office in 2006 and became Scotland County’s first black sheriff. He won re-election in 2010 but earlier this year was the subject of an investigation by the SBI for mishandling funds. There was no action taken against Jones due to the complaints.
Kersey was originally scheduled to be sworn into office on Dec. 1.
