ROWAN COUNTY, Ky. (LEX NEWS) — Election officials reviewed the tallies Thursday to verify that the results from the Nov. 3 general election were recorded accurately. The recanvass confirmed the original count of 574 votes for Trent and 573 for Schack was correct.
"As of right now, they have affirmed what the vote total was on election night," said Sarah Cameron, an attorney representing Trent. "This is unprecedented. Of course, this is a write-in candidate."
However, legal challenges could still change the outcome.
Lincoln Caudill, an attorney representing Schack, said two write-in ballots cast for his client did not count from the tally because how they were written. "There’s two votes that were not counted for Edna Schack," Caudill said. "They were written in, and they just included her first name only."
Under Kentucky election regulations, a valid write-in vote must include the candidate's last name. However, Schack’s legal team plans to argue that the voters' intent was clear when they wrote "Edna" on the ballot. "I plan to file an action to recount the election and also an action to contest the election," Caudill said.
Separately, Rowan County Attorney Cecil Watkins said a clerical error involving a voter's driver's license mistakenly placed a nonresident into a city precinct, allowing that person to cast a ballot in the Morehead mayoral race. Which a judge will rule on that outcome.
With multiple legal questions remaining before a winner is finalized, Cameron said the focus should remain on following state election law. "On behalf of the citizens of Morehead, we want that we give them (residents of Morehead) an answer very certain, but we need to make sure we’re following the law," Cameron said.
For now, Trent's one-vote margin stands.
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