Following a recount of votes in Christian Circuit Court Tuesday, the results of the District 6 magistrate election did not change, which means Phillip Peterson will unseat incumbent Jack Lackey.
Court officials hand counted each ballot, including from the four voting precincts in District 6 and absentee ballots. After several hours of counting, Circuit Judge John Atkins declared the outcome unchanged.
Lackey, who served as magistrate since 2007, says the Christian County Clerk’s Office should be commended for their accuracy.
Magistrate-Elect Peterson says he is very pleased with the result and it shows that the system works and every vote counts.
Each voting machine had remained sealed until it came time for it be reopened for recount and each vote was sorted before being counted. After being counted the first time, Judge Atkins recounted them by hand again. In the end, it remained that two votes were all that separated victory from defeat.