State Representative Michael Wray this afternoon requested a recount of votes cast in the House District 27 race during the March 5 primary across Halifax, Northampton and Warren counties.

The request for the recounts comes as Wray’s percentage margin of defeat to challenger Rodney Pierce stands at .30 percent, which represents 35 votes.

In a statement Wray said that state law provides that a candidate has the right to demand a recount of the votes if the difference between the votes for that candidate and the votes for a prevailing candidate are not more than 1 percent of the total votes cast in the ballot item. “Despite recent statements by outside parties, my campaign has never made any claims of election fraud,” Wray said. “Instead, we have only sought to make sure all of the votes have been counted. State law provides for a recount to insure that the votes have been correctly tabulated in close races like this one.”

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He said, “The people of House District 27 deserve to know with absolute certainty who is the winner of this race. For that reason, I am seeking a recount of the vote. Were my opponent trailing by only 35 votes, I would expect him to do the same. We appreciate the hard work of our local elections officials and thank them for their service to our citizens.”

Pierce had no comment.

Meanwhile, the lone provisional ballot protested by Wray in Northampton County last week was dismissed today, the county’s board of elections confirmed.

“I am grateful that in their meeting today the Northampton County Board of Elections unanimously dismissed Michael Wray’s false election claim and I look forward to the boards Warren and Halifax doing the same,” Pierce said in a statement. “The voters of HD-27 deserve to have their voices heard.”

The Halifax County Board of Elections will meet Tuesday at 1 p.m. to conduct preliminary consideration on the four election protests that were filed Friday. They will meet in the board of commissioners room at the Historic Courthouse on King Street in Halifax.

In addition to Wray’s protest in Halifax County, incumbent school board members Tyus Few and James Mills and District 1 board of commissioners candidate Ophelia Gould-Faison, who all lost, have filed protests.