KNOX COUNTY, Tenn. — A count of the provisional ballots cast on election day ended with Phil Ballard edging out Jackie Raley as the Republican nominee for Property Assessor after the race was too close to call on election night.
Ballard led the count after ballots were counted on election day by 12 votes. Knox County Election Administrator Chris Davis said election workers collected 72 provisional ballots, which had yet to be counted.
On Friday, a bipartisan group of volunteers studied the provisional ballots to determine which were legally cast and which weren't. After counting, none of the results changed.
The voters who cast provisional ballots, which were legally cast, were evenly split on 2 candidates for Property Assessor. 13 voted for Phil Ballard and 13 voted for Jackie Raley.
In the Republican Primary for County Commission District 1, Charles Frazier edged out Justin Hirst by 5 votes after ballots were counted on election day.
Of the 72 provisional ballots collected, 5 were cast in District 1. Two of those ballots were cast in the Democratic Primary, Davis said. The three votes in the primary wouldn't have changed the outcome of the race.
Davis said provisional ballots are used to allow people to vote if election officials have questions about whether a person is legally able to vote.
Several scenarios would lead to a person casting a provisional ballot, Davis said. Sometimes, voters will request an absentee ballot, but vote on election day if they're worried the ballot won't make it back in time. Davis said if the absentee ballot hasn't been returned, the provisional ballot can be counted.
In other cases, voters may not have valid photo ID, voters insist they haven't voted when records show they have, or voters demand to vote in the wrong precinct.
"I will not allow anybody to say they are disenfranchised in Knox County," Davis said. "If they want to vote, we'll give them a ballot. It may not count."
The bipartisan group of volunteers studied the ballots and supporting evidence to determine which votes could be counted. Only after they determined whether the ballots were legally cast, was an envelope opened so the vote could count.
The results of the primary will be officially certified by the Knox County Election Commission on March 20.