New election protests filed against council elect Les Lipford and mayor elect Kareem Moore
UPDATE:
From the Lenoir County Board of Elections website:
Preliminary Consideration meeting for the Election Protest filed against Kareem Moore and the amended Election Protest filed against Les Lipford will be held Friday, November 14th immediately after Canvass. County Canvass will begin at 11am.
PREVIOUS:
Three new election protests were filed Wednesday at the Lenoir County Board of Elections, including an amended protest against Kinston City Council elect Les Lipford and two separate protests challenging the eligibility of mayor elect Kareem Moore. All filings were stamped as received on Nov. 13.
The amended protest against Lipford was submitted by Sean Keenan, who alleges that Lipford does not meet the residency requirements outlined in NCGS 160A-59. The protest states that Lipford swore on his municipal notice of candidacy that he resides at 2315 Susan Avenue in Kinston. According to the filing, the Susan Avenue property is not owned by Lipford.
Keenan’s protest contends that Lipford and his wife own property at 2124 Wolf Lane, which is located outside the Kinston city limits. The filing includes the deed of trust for the Wolf Lane property, identifying Lester Eric Lipford as the borrower and bearing signatures from both Lipford and his wife, Feletia Lipford. The protest notes that the loan is guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and argues that federal VA loan regulations require the mortgaged property to be the borrower’s primary residence. The filing states that Lipford either resides outside the city limits or falsified loan documentation.
Two additional protests were filed against mayor elect Kareem Moore. In one filing, Tanya K. Sutton wrote that she is contesting Moore’s eligibility to hold municipal office because of concerns about “the validity of his legal residency within the limits of the city of Kinston.”
A second protest against Moore was filed by Maria President, who wrote that Moore filed to run for office in July 2025 but did not register to vote until Nov. 1, 2025, after the filing period and immediately before Election Day. President’s protest states that Moore “has not maintained an established legal residency within the city of Kinston since prior to 2018,” raising questions about compliance with state residency statutes. The filing also alleges that certain voters were offered or provided payment or other valuable consideration in exchange for their votes, which would constitute a violation of election law.
Under state law, the Lenoir County Board of Elections must review the filings to determine whether probable cause exists to move the protests forward to formal hearings. The board has not yet announced a date for preliminary consideration.
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