Four votes separate two candidates in one Middle Tennessee election. Now what?

Four votes separate two candidates in an at-large school board race in Lebanon that still may not be decided, based on uncounted provisional ballots, but election officials say an Election Day internet outage should not be a factor in the race.

Heather Sadler Gallaher garnered 1,771 votes to Dusty Jones' 1,767.

Election officials said there are 23 outstanding provisional ballots and nine of them fall within the Lebanon Special School District's zone.

But, sometimes it's best to consider past precedents.

Historically, the majority of provisional ballots don't end up counting because those voters are often ineligible for different reasons, such as registering too late to vote, Administrator of Elections Tammy Smith said. How many provisional ballots that will count hasn't yet been determined.

"I'm not conceding anything until the election numbers are certified," Jones said.

Certification is expected to be complete by March 20, Smith said.

Jones did express concerns about the internet outage during election day and whether it caused some voters to leave amid such a close election.

The outage was related to laptops that were used to verify voter eligibility upon entry, said retired Administrator of Elections Phillip Warren, who still assists with the election commission. The outage lasted roughly 10 minutes and did not impact voting machines, according to Smith.

"Everyone who wanted to vote was able to vote," Smith said. "It was max 10 minutes, but in that timeframe our locations used the backup procedures as they have been trained to do. We had no instances voters telling us they left."

Gallaher said she will "wait for the process" and will go forward as the candidate elected "until anything changes."

Tennessee law does not allow for a recount, Smith said. A challenge to the election could be filed in court.

Dusty Jones’ father Steve Jones did not seek reelection after 36 years on the Lebanon Special School District board.

Wilson County School Board races

Both incumbents won their Republican-only primaries for Wilson County School Board seats Tuesday against challengers and will be uncontested on the ballot in August.

Incumbent Melissa Walker Lynn defeated challenger Joe Schippers 1,435-1,233 for the Zone 3 seat with provisional ballots still remaining.

Jamie Farough, who is the present Wilson County School Board chair, defeated Jessica Hill 1,329-986 for the Zone 7 seat with the provisional ballots remaining.

Both challengers' campaigns included concerns about inappropriate books in Wilson County school libraries.

Republican Gregory Hohman was uncontested in the primary and will run in August against Independent Carrie Pfeiffer, who is the incumbent. Independent candidates are not on the primary ballot.

Democrat Brittany Ash and Republican Donnie Self were each uncontested as candidates in their respective parties for the Zone 5 Wilson County School Board race that will be decided in August.

Republican incumbent Stephen Goodall and Democrat Derrick Hammond were each unopposed, running in an Assessor of Property race that will be decided in August.

Reach Andy Humbles at ahumbles@tennessean.com or 615-726-5939 and on X, formerly known as Twitter @ AndyHumbles.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Four votes separate Tennessee candidates after Election Day. Now what?