FIRST ON 3 UPDATE: Baseball petition comes up 14 signatures short; City will allow additional petitions to be entered

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — After reviewing all 3,903 signatures on a petition trying to stop tax payer money going toward a new ballpark in town, The New Hanover County Board of Elections says the group came up short… 14 signatures short, to be exact.

2,828 signatures were verified by the Board of Elections, just missing the mark at 2,842 needed to move the ordinance forward. New Hanover County Board of Elections Director Marvin McFadyen says the next move is up to the city.

City Attorney Bill Wolak says Wilmington will allow additional petitions to be entered for consideration. Wolak says there is no time limit for the petitions and once they are returned to the city clerk, the signatures will be turned into the Board of Elections for further analysis.

Ben McCoy and Josh Fulton, two men involved with circulating the petition, say as of Friday at 4 p.m., 73 additional signatures were turned into the city clerk. They were told the additions should be in the possession of the Board of Elections by Monday.