The votes were cast Tuesday night and the recount came on Thursday. When all was done, incumbent Tyrone Councilman Ken Matthews beat challenger Pota Coston by a slim margin of six votes in the race for the Post 3 council seat.
Matthews won the contest taking 659 votes while Coston received 653 votes. A total of 1,317 votes were cast, representing a 29.8 percent turnout of Tyrone’s approximately 4,000 registered voters.
Fayette County elections supervisor Tom Sawyer said he was contacted by Coston, asking for a recount in the race that was decided by a razor-thin margin. Sawyer then contacted Matthews and the recount was conducted Thursday morning at the elections office in Fayetteville.
Coston was accompanied for the recount by Fayette County Issues Tea Party representative Bob Ross and attorney Wayne Kendall. Matthews was also present for the recount.
Sawyer said he explained the process to the two candidates, then reset the machines and ran the ballots. The number of votes for each candidate remained the same as the number counted Tuesday night, Sawyer said.
Sawyer noted that he had received three calls from citizens interested in voting in the contest but were unable to do so because they had moved and were no longer eligible to vote in the election.
Sawyer reminded voters to register to vote at the appropriate polling location if they move. The new registration can be accomplished by visiting the Ga. Secretary of State website at www.vote.ga.gov and accessing the My Voter Page.
