A day after the North Carolina's first count of the instant-runoff ballots and three days after Election Day, it appears that Don Frantz has won Cary's District B Town Council seat by a 54-vote margin over Vickie Maxwell.

"This has been the stressful experience of my life," Frantz said. "[It's] an emotional roller coaster."

Maxwell said that because of the closeness of the race she has not conceded.

Frantz and Maxwell sprent nearly three hours Thursday witnessing the hand count of instant-runoff ballots, the first ever counted in North Carolina. Wake County Board of Elections members, staff and volunteers from the League of Women Voters of Wake County counted the votes.

Unofficially, the results from Tuesday’s election showed Frantz in front, 1,142-1,061, ahead of Maxwell. Incumbent Nels Roseland finished third and out of the runoff. His 791 votes from Tuesday ranking Frantz or Maxwell second or third were the ballots the board, staff and volunteers separated and counted.

Even though Maxwell picked up more second and third choices than Frantz from Roseland’s ballots, when those votes were added to the totals from Tuesday, Frantz seemed to have a 28-vote lead.

Board of Elections Director Cherie Poucher said Friday that an audit revealed that the seeming 28-vote margin resulted from a group of Frantz's votes being added to Maxwell's at the end of the Thursday's tally process.

Once that discrepancy was detected and the count adjusted, Frantz's actual cushion was 54 votes, Poucher said.

"That's why they have audits and the process worked," Frantz said. "I just wish somebody had put me in a coma for three days."

There are 29 provisional ballots that will be counted and five more that may be counted depending on what the board decides, Poucher said.

The totals do not include any provisional ballots and the board will not certify the results until Tuesday.

Both candidates arrived at the county Board of Elections in downtown Raleigh before 10 a.m. The board was scheduled to handle some preliminary matters before moving on to the hand-count of the instant runoff.

Cary was the first municipality in the state to try the runoff approach. The N.C. General Assembly approved the approach as a pilot program last year for up to 10 cities in 2007 and 10 counties in 2008. The Town Council agreed in May for Cary to be one of the cities to try the program. Hendersonville is also participating.

Elections officials and leaders of several election-reform organizations call the instant runoff a way to give choices back to voters, save counties and municipalities money and take some money out of politics.

About a dozen people showed up to witness the event. The candidates chatted cordially throughout the day while waiting through the preliminaries and observing the count.

“You want to play Hangman while we wait?” Maxwell kidded with Frantz early on.

Still, the day wore on them.

Even with a slim lead, Frantz was critical of the process.

“I think it stinks,” Frantz said, “because the individuals who voted for this don’t have to go through it. The system wasn’t broke and I don’t know why we’re trying to fix it.”

Maxwell was more upbeat. “It’s kind of exciting,” she said. “I feel like I understand the process.”

With the apparent outcome, Maxwell said she was relieved the campaign was over and that she would get back to her life.

“I’ll do what I always do,” Maxwell said. “Continue my volunteer work, start cooking dinner for my family again and get back to the gym — yes!”

For Frantz, the seeming victory had not set in.

“I’m so exhausted I don’t think it’s hit yet,” Frantz said.

Frantz ran against Roseland for the seat in 2003 and lost by 131 votes.

“I never imagined that this election would be closer than my last election,” Frantz said.