15 Provisional Ballots Could Change the House District 28 Race Results

In the tight House District 28 Special Primary, it could be one County’s provisional ballots that could ultimately determine the winner.

On Tuesday the race between House Republican Incumbent Dan Gasaway and Republican challenger businessman Chris Erwin ended with a three-vote difference, with Erwin just slightly ahead of Gasaway by a total vote of 3,516 to Gasaway’s 3,513.

Overall, Erwin received the required 50% plus 1 vote and technically won, but a new Georgia law requires all provisional ballots to be decided before a race is certified.

Gasaway actually won handily in both Stephens and Habersham Counties, getting over 59% of the vote in both, but lost by a wide margin in Banks County where Erwin took more than 59% of the vote.

There was a total of 15 provisional ballots covering all three counties, but Habersham County had the most with 10.

Stephens County had three provisionals and Banks County had two. That means it is possible that the Habersham County provisional ballots could change the outcome of the race.

The Habersham County Registrar’s office told WNEG News on Wednesday they expected all ten provisional ballots to cleared and counted by Wednesday night.

Stephens County Registrar Bill Cochran said of their three provisionals in the Special Primary, one had to do with an address issue, another who voted out of precinct, and one where no record of the voter’s registration could be found.

Cochran said those three voters received a letter when they cast their House District 28 ballots.

”The letter states the (election) board will meet on Friday to determine the validity of those ballots, and the voters have until Friday to provide any information that was required at the time they voted that they did not have,” he explained. And on Friday, after the Board makes their determination, a letter will be sent to the three voters on the disposition of their ballots.”

In Banks County, the only County in the District where Erwin won, County Registrar Andra Phagan tells WNEG News their two provisional ballots had to do with voters who had moved since the May Primary to a new address within the County and had not sent in a change of address to her office.

Phagan said they were allowed to vote in their old precinct.

She said her Board of Elections will meet at 3p on Friday to review those two provisional votes.

WNEG News will bring you the final vote count once all ballots in the three counties have been certified.