It’s all official, but then again, it is not. That’s the word after the Macon County Board of Elections certified the Election Day results on Friday and moved forward with a recount.
The election is officially certified and the results are final. That’s how the elections board ruled and how the state currently sees the results.
However, to many Maconian’s relief, the quarter-cent sales tax referendum that officially lost by one vote refuses to die.
A recount will take place beginning Monday (Nov. 16) and those results will rule the day.
The current results
At the end of election day, it was a historically close result:
- 7,862 “Against” and 7,853 “For”.
But then provisional votes and mail-in ballot were counted, and it got even more interesting:
- “Against” votes “won” again with a one-vote margin – 7,888 “Against” and 7,887 “For”.
Legally, the board’s canvass is complete, all the votes are counted and any that were challenged went through the process.
But out of an abundance of caution, a recount will take place. And if the vote changes, both the county and the state will recognize the new winner and loser, if necessary, and that will be that.
The recount
Technically, after completing its canvas and certifying the election, the BOE could not adjourn its meeting. instead, the Board legally recessed until Tuesday at noon, so the recount, which starts at 7 a.m. Monday, can be completed and certified.
The county will use 24 machines to count the votes for this one referenda, and officials believe it will be completed by the end of business on Monday.
Statutorily, a bipartisan group of board members will be present for the entire count. To be bipartisan, members of the board must represent the two main parties.
If there are any questions about individual votes, the bipartisan group of board members will vote to determine the voter’s intent or whether it is nullified. An example causing a question could be if a voter marked “For” and “Against”.
Of course, they do expect some challenging decisions as many people will touch all the ballot choices with their pen and the machine can misread it. In that case, they look at the entire ballot and attempt to determine a pattern that then gives them the evidence they need to make a decision on that vote.
In the end, while legally the election is officially certified, all that could change Monday. And when that count is finalized on Tuesday, the result will be final, again.
The board will meet at noon on Tuesday to finalize the votes, the recount and the 2026 elections.
Votes challenged
One of the more interesting discussions at the meeting concerned the death of two Maconians and their votes.
One, Valerie Jean Roberts, died after early voting on October 20. Her death invalidated her votes because she did not live until election day.
Another Maconian died on October 31, but because the notification came after the deadline, November 10, that person’s votes counted. This issue is managed according to the law, though the board may attempt to change the law since they said seemingly arbitrary deadlines regarding voters deaths may not make sense.
Pictured top: Macon County Board of Elections met on Friday.
