Gainesboro Alderman Candidate Said He Will Contest Election Results

A candidate in the Gainesboro Aldermen race plans to contest the certified August election results.

Fifth Place Candidate Dennis White said after seeking legal consultation, he will take the appropriate steps to represent himself Monday.

“I’ve asked an attorney, and he told me that if I do this I can represent myself,” White said. “All I have to do is take the paperwork with me where they took and voted not intentionally but voted 14 people that shouldn’t have voted in the city and take it to the judge and he will make a decision on what to do.”

Human error lead to nine to 14 county voters participating in the city election. First place candidate Nancy Pruett finished with 130 votes. A total of four candidates finished between 99 and 104 votes in a race for three seats on the Board of Aldermen.

“I asked and they said it is a civil case and they’ve had plenty of people come before me to do a civil case,” White said. “They said you can do it yourself. You don’t have to have an attorney.”

Candidates have until the beginning of next week to challenge the results. Candidates Ricky Head, Travis Agee and Eric Bartholomew all said they would not contest the results. White received 99 votes and believes the additional votes changed the outcome of the race.

“I was in second place then the vote of those that weren’t supposed to vote came in and put me back in 5th place,” White said. “That’s how close it was.”

The state recognized the error but instructed Jackson County election officials to go ahead and certify the results. Officials said that ballots could not be tied to a name and the results could not be changed but could be contested in court.