Close vote between incumbent, independent brings provisional ballots, possible recount into question
By DONNA THORNTON, Editor
The race is over but the winner in State Senate District 10 remains undecided as unofficial tabulations find only 53 votes separating the current senator and an independent opponent.
The general election ballot in the district – which includes Etowah County, Cherokee County, and southern DeKalb County – pitted incumbent Republican Andrew Jones against challenger Jesse Battles, running as an independent.
According to the Alabama Secretary of State’s website, unofficial results put Battles on top, with 20,341 votes to Jones’ 20,289.
But in Etowah County alone, Probate Judge Scott Hassell said, provisional ballots numbered in the 80s – more than the margin between the two candidates. When a voter comes to the polls and there is some question about voting eligibility – such as whether a residence is in the proper voting precinct, or the voter is properly registered – they are allowed to cast a provision ballot, which is sealed in an envelope. That means the ballot will be reviewed for eligibility, and if found to be legitimate, will be added to the vote totals.
DeKalb County Probate Judge Ronnie Osborn said he was on the phone to both Hassell and Cherokee County Probate Judge Tim Burgess the morning of Nov. 4, consulting about the provisional ballots. DeKalb County had 23, Osborn said, Cherokee had 28, and Etowah had 88.
However, Osborn noted, it’s likely that only a portion of those ballots will be counted. Based on past elections, out of those 23 provisionals in DeKalb, he said, maybe six would be found to be properly cast and counted toward the final vote total. And those could be split between the two candidates, he said.
Osborn said he wouldn’t expect the counting of provisional ballots to greatly change the ratio between the two candidates.
Hassell explained the process of dealing with provisional ballots. After the election, ballots were secured by the sheriff’s office, and provision ballots were submitted to the Board of Registrars to be vetted one-by-one. The board will submit its findings to the county’s canvassing board, which was set to meet at 12 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10. The same process was to be carried out for DeKalb and Cherokee provision votes.
The canvassing board, Hassell said, is normally made up of the probate judge, the Absentee Election manager, and the sheriff. Because Etowah County Sheriff Jonathon Horton was on this ballot, Hassell said, he will appoint someone else to serve on Etowah’s board.
The board will vote on whether ballots should be counted. Ballots that are not counted will be sealed for the record; those that are counted will be opened and put into a voting machine to be tabulated and will be added to the vote totals for the candidate the voter had selected.
Hassell said those vote totals will be submitted to the Secretary of State’s office.
In Facebook posts, Battles indicated his expectation to take the race when all is said and done.
“I am incredibly humbled and grateful to be your next State Senator for District 10! Northeast Alabama is my home, and representing the people and communities I love is an honor I will never take for granted,” he wrote. “Thank you to everyone who believed in us, stood beside us, and bubbled in Jesse Battles! I promise to work hard, listen, and fight for the people of this district.
“I am proud to serve you. Now, let’s get to work!”
Jones pointed to another factor establishing a winner in the race – the possibility of a recount.
“I’m grateful to the voters of Etowah, Cherokee, and DeKalb for their outpouring of love, prayers, and support over our year and a half campaign,” he posted. “Tuesday night’s vote margin appears to be within the threshold for an automatic recount. Additionally, it is my understanding that there are a good number of provisional ballots still to be reviewed.
“The principle of ‘one person, one vote’ has always been the backbone of our democratic system. I ask for your patience as every vote is counted and as we ensure that no mistakes were made. Thank you and may God bless the great state of Alabama!”
According to Ballotpedia, Alabama law requires an automatic recount if the margin deciding a race is .5% or less in a general election. “Requested recounts are allowed if the margin is greater than .5% and the requester is responsible for the costs unless the recount changes the outcome of the election in their favor,” the website stated.
Battles qualified to run for the Republican nomination but was removed from the ballot after his candidacy was challenged, with a claim that he’d worked for a Democratic candidate in the past. The Republican Steering Committee voted to take his name off the primary ballot.
He successfully petitioned to appear on the general election ballot at an independent.
