A conservative-leaning organization based in Raleigh on Monday withdrew its request for a preliminary restraining order and preliminary injunction to remove same-day ballots from certification while the lawsuit it filed regarding same-day ballots proceeds through a federal court.

On Nov. 21, the Civitas Institute filed a lawsuit seeking the restraining order and injunction against the North Carolina State Board of Elections to prevent it from including ballots cast during same-day registration during the early voting period for the Nov. 8 general election, pending further investigation. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Civitas Institute President Francis De Luca is listed as the plaintiff. The state board, its members and its executive director were named as defendants.

When the lawsuit was filed, De Luca said, “To count ballots without verification of same-day registration information discriminates by treating one class of voters differently from another. Furthermore, this calls into question the outcome of close elections such as the one we are still in the middle of in North Carolina. Legitimate voters should never have their votes cancelled by illegitimate voters. The State Board of Elections should examine every ballot cast via same-day registration to verify that every vote cast is genuine and legitimate.”

On Monday, De Luca discussed the decision to drop the request for a restraining order and preliminary injunction in a news release. “Our decision to drop the request for the temporary injunction avoids any continued disruption to the conclusion of the election, given the political realities. It is important to focus on the core issue of the suit, which seeks to ensure the equal treatment of voters under the law. To count ballots without proper verification of same-day registration information discriminates by treating one class of voters differently from another and ignores federal and state laws. We hope all can now focus on the important issue of voter verification. The federal lawsuit will move forward,” De Luca said in the release.

Same-day registration allows people to register to vote and mark ballots the same day. That process is used during the early voting period. During this election cycle, Beaufort County had 410 same-day voter registrations, according to Board of Elections data.

Meanwhile, the Beaufort County Board of Elections will conduct a recount in the Beaufort County Board of Commissioners contest and at least one statewide race, the contest between incumbent Beth Wood, a Democrat, and Republican Chuck Stuber for the state auditor’s seat on the Council of State. Wood leads Stuber by about 6,000 votes.

The recount begins at 8:30 a.m. today at the county board’s office, 1308 Highland Drive, Suite 104.

Last week after the county board conducted its canvass, Commissioner Gary Brinn and challenger Derik Davis, both Republicans, each gained on vote from seven provisional ballots approved by the board. Updated official vote totals show Brinn as the fourth-highest vote-getter in the commissioners contest, just 60 votes ahead of Derik Davis, who finished fifth among seven candidates. Brinn collected 3,290 votes to Davis’ 3,230 votes. The difference between their votes is less than 1 percent. Both are Republicans.

Several hours after the canvass, Davis filed his written request for a recount in the commissioners race. Under North Carolina law (General Statute 163-182), a candidate can demand a recount if the difference between the votes for that candidate and the votes of the winning candidate is less than 1 percent of the total votes cast in a non-statewide race, or in the case of a multi-seat ballot item, 1 percent of the votes cast for those two candidates.