In county elections across the eastern part of the commonwealth, some races were decided by fewer than 50 votes Tuesday.
According to a memo from the State Board of Elections, candidates who are within 1% can make a written request for a recanvass, or a review of the vote totals, by 4 p.m. the Tuesday after the election. This year’s deadline is Nov. 10, and candidates must cover the cost.
In Knott County’s 4th District Magistrate race, Democratic incumbent Calvin Waddles has already requested a recanvass, Knott County Clerk Maurica Cornett said. Unofficial results show Waddles losing to Republican candidate Kevin Huff by just eight votes in a county with 10,270 registered voters.
Cornett said the recanvass will be held Nov. 12. The process involves reviewing tapes from the machines in Knott County’s 4th District and seeing if the totals match the election night results.
“If they match, nothing is said,” Cornett said. “If they don't, we have to go back and see what the problem is. But most of the time, it doesn't change.”
There’s no situation in Knott County that triggers an automatic recanvass in local races, but state law calls for an automatic recount in General Assembly races if the margin is 0.5% or less.
“We can't just do recount, on any recanvass on anybody,” Cornett said. “It's got to be 1% of the total that the candidate gets before he can even want a recount. It's not something you just do.”
Other tight races where recanvasses could be possible include the Carter County clerk’s race, with incumbent Debbie Johnson losing to Republican challenger Amy Greer by 40 votes; the Letcher County judge-executive’s race, where incumbent Terry Adams is beating Democratic challenger Deb Collier by 24 votes; the Magoffin County coroner’s election in which incumbent Mark Jenkins is beating Republican challenger Johnnie Lovely by 10 votes; and the Perry County sheriff’s race, where Democrat Shawn White in beating Republican Shannon Woods by 14 votes.
In Robertson County, in Northern Kentucky, the race for the 2nd District Magistrate was more than close: Tuesday’s results are a tie. Republican Benny Ray Renner and Democrat Kristen Fryman each got 91 votes.
Instead of a recount, local officials took a different approach.
Fryman said when she heard her opponent received 91 votes, she knew the race had to be close.
“When it was tied, I was like, ‘Wow,’” Fryman told WEKU. “I was kind of shocked cause that's just something I don't think that...I was told that's never happened in our county before.”
To decide the race, county officials did a coin toss. They used a quarter from the sheriff’s pocket.
Fryman, who works for 3M in Cynthiana, decided to run after she found out the current magistrate was retiring and wanted to do her best for Kentucky’s smallest county.
“Our county clerk, she flipped it, and Benny, my opponent, he's the one that got the call because he was listed first on the ballot, and he called heads, and it was tails,” Fryman said.
A coin toss wasn’t how she envisioned winning, she said.
“We laughed about it, and I left her as the winner and with the quarter in my pocket,” Fryman said.
