Knox County's provisional ballots weren't a factor in races decided by super slim margins
Two Knox County Republican primary races were so incredibly close that all eyes were on the March 8 provisional ballot count. When committee members scrutinized every last ballot, the outcomes stayed exactly the same.
Candidates for the Knox County Commission District 1 GOP slot were separated by a mere five votes, while the candidates for property assessor were separated by 12.
Knox County Election Commission Administrator Chris Davis told Knox News that 38 out of 71 provisional ballots were added to the vote totals because they were deemed to be valid. The others were rejected for a variety of reasons, the most common a failure to register to vote within the 30-day period before the election.
Provisional ballots are meant to be a fail-safe mechanism for voters who arrive at the polls on Election Day and whose eligibility to vote is uncertain.
Each provisional ballot is kept separate until it can be determined if the person were eligible to vote or whether they sent in a qualifying mail-in ballot. If a voter's mail-in ballot was received, their provisional ballot will not count.
Here's how the work from the bipartisan Provisional Ballot Counting Board shook out:
Knox County property assessor GOP primary: On election night, Phil Ballard led Jackie Raley by 12 votes out of 42,558 cast in the election. In provisional ballot counting, each candidate received 13 additional votes, so Ballard's 12-vote lead held.
Knox County Commission District 1 GOP primary: On election night, five votes separated candidates Charles Frazier and Justin Hirst. Fewer than five provisional ballots were cast in that race, so they were not tallied because no matter how the provisional votes were distributed, Frazier would have maintained his lead.
Davis told Knox News the District 1 race was one of the closest he's seen in his 12 years at the election commission. The closest was the 2017 city of Knoxville Primary, in which Amelia Parker and Harry Tindell perfectly tied for second place. That race went to the Knoxville City Council for a vote, per city rules.
The 2024 primary results will be presented to the Election Commission at 8:30 a.m. March 20, when the full results will be certified.
Silas Sloan is the growth and development reporter. Email silas.sloan@knoxnews.com. Twitter @silasloan. Instagram @knox.growth.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knox County provisional ballots won't affect 2024 primary elections
