The State Board of Elections has dismissed a formal protest filed in an eastern North Carolina county alleging workers for a political committee fraudulently filled out absentee ballots on behalf of voters for the Nov. 8 elections. A county spokesman confirmed the recount of ballots from five early voting sites and one Election Day precinct began early Saturday afternoon. The Durham board had planned to start running the ballots through tabulation machines Sunday but moved it up when the state board declined to extend its earlier deadline. North Carolina's elections board is holding a weekend meeting to consider what to do about ballots cast in Bladen County in light of an investigation into irregularities with absentee ballots there.