RALEIGH, NC (WTVD) — As the Wake County Board of Elections met Friday to certify the resultswent through 70 different voting challenges. Forty-five of those contested ballots revolved around dead voters, specifically people who voted but died before Election Day.

In response, testimony was provided by family members of two of the individuals and, in a third case, by Councilman Greg Flynn, in support of the ballot count.

“Please don’t rob a public servant, a 78-year-old veteran, of one of his last acts when he was so proud to do,” one man’s daughter explained.

In emotional remarks, she asked the Council to allow the votes to stand.

“He voted legally in the allotted time slot with his ID. There is no reason why his vote should not count,” the woman said.

Ultimately, the Board voted to allow all three ballots where testimony was provided to be counted, while voting against counting 42 dead voter ballots where no testimony was provided.

“It’s proof that they voted, that this was their ballot, and that the law, which is meant to protect against other people voting on a deceased person’s ballot, is outdated,” Flynn said, explaining why he personally voted for the count of three. ballot papers, but not the other 42.

Board member Keith Weatherly opposed counting any of the ballots.

“I said we have to follow the law and the law now as it is. This has not been refuted by any legal source that I know of, that we have no discretion in this matter. If the person votes and then dies before Election Day, we’re required to get them out, get that ballot out,” Weatherly said.

A Note 2022 from the State Electoral Council addressed the issue: “As a reminder, qualifications for all voters, including early and absentee voters, are assessed beginning on Election Day. GS 163-55, -59″. Apparently, a spokesperson for the State Board of Elections confirmed that, according to the memo, “a voter who dies after voting and before Election Day is not eligible to vote in that election.”

“How you decide what laws you’re going to follow and what laws you’re not going to follow (or) break, then that’s a slippery slope,” Weatherly said.

“They were legal to vote. These are not people who have appeared on our criminal record. These are not people who appeared as non-citizens. These are people who did everything we asked them to do and completed their challenge. And the only thing they did wrong was they died,” said Erica Porter, chairwoman of the Wake County Board of Elections.

Porter acknowledged that the decision to allow the three votes could open the Board of Elections to lawsuits, emphasizing her desire for the state Legislature to take up the issue.

“It’s something I’m passionate about and I’ll be there all the way if I need to,” Porter said.

Board member Gerry Cohen, widely regarded as an expert on North Carolina election law, shared that a previous legislative effort to address the issue made progress in the House but stalled in the Senate.

“One way to change the law, I think maybe, is to make some noise about it,” Cohen said.

ABC11 reached out to the State Board of Elections to confirm what steps, if any, could be taken to appeal the county board’s decision. At this time, there was no response.

Other challenges to the ballots included 12 cases of a person convicted of a crime, two non-citizens who voted, and 11 in various categories of people who already voted.