Every vote counts

Robbinsville – Both Debra “Hank” Dinschel and Maria Shook had to hope Monday’s absentee counts would provide some form of relief about which of the two would be on the Graham County Board of Education.

Instead, the race is tied.

Shook (D) carried a one-vote lead into Monday’s absentee meeting of the Graham County Board of Elections, the final one before results are certified Friday. Shook received two votes from the Stecoah precinct, with Dinschel (R) making up ground thanks to a pair of nods from the Robbinsville East Ward precinct and one from the West Ward.

As it stands, both have received 1,434 votes.

At this juncture, the determining factor could come down to provisionals.

The election office confirmed to The Graham Star that 15 provisionals were to be sifted through at 5:30 p.m. today.

Provisionals ballots are set aside during an election if a question about voter eligibility (which county a voter is registered in, felony status, etc.) and only ran through a tabulator if everything checks out.

In the event that Dinschel and Shook are still tied after provisionals, the race will be determined via coin-flip. A recount has to be requested by 5 p.m. the next business day after canvassing – in this case, that will be Monday, Nov. 21.

Canvassing will be held at 11 a.m. Friday.

Seven absentees were received Monday, but only six were counted – as one was postmarked two days after the Nov. 8 deadline. The board had been holding absentee meetings each Tuesday throughout the election, to certify that ballots received could be admitted as valid. All told, the local election office received – and mailed out – 114 requests, with a whopping 88 (or 77 percent) being returned and admissible to the final tally.

Clark “Chip” Carringer (R) was re-elected by a wide margin, receiving more than 36 percent of the overall votes cast. Incumbent Shane Garland (D) failed in his bid for another term.

Final numbers for all local races will appear in the Thanksgiving edition of The Graham Star.