Recanvass of Hardin County Eighth Magisterial District Republican primary to be held Thursday

UPDATE: Hardin County Clerk Brian D. Smith conducted the recanvassing, which confirmed the count at 583 votes for Kenny Muse and 581 votes for Jonathan Breeding. The Board of Elections took no further action during the meeting.
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The Hardin County Board of Elections will conduct an official recanvass of the ballots cast in the Eighth Magisterial District Republican primary election Thursday.

“A recanvass allows us to review all of the results that came in on election night, and we’ll be doing that with the candidates or their representatives, and they get to be present for that,” said Hardin County Clerk Brian D. Smith. “They get to double check our math and make sure everything adds up. A recount would involve recounting the ballots. That can only be ordered by a circuit court judge.”

The recanvass will be conducted at 9 a.m. at 1370 Rogersville Road in Radcliff. Candidates and other interested parties are welcome to attend this public meeting.

The recanvass was requested by candidate Jonathan Breeding, who “filed a timely written request for the recanvass” after the initial tally from the primary showed him trailing incumbent Kenny Muse by two votes.

“If the threshold of an election is determined by 1 percent or less, any candidate involved in that election can request a recanvass, and I don’t blame a candidate who is down by two votes requesting a recanvass,” Smith said. “I will say, I’ve spoken to both candidates, and they have both been absolute gentlemen about this process, and we look forward to having that complete and reassuring everybody that the unofficial results that were announced on election night and that were certified by the Board of Elections are accurate.”

The results of the recanvass will be submitted to the State Board of Elections to become the official return for the race.