Hovey does not agree to coin flip, requests a re-hearing for the District 27 seat

COLUMBUS, Ga. (WTVM) - The Alabama State Senate District 27 seat could have come down to a coin flip Wednesday if both candidates had agreed.

On May 24, Auburn City Councilman Jay Hovey appeared to beat incumbent Senator Tom Whatley by a single vote.

Whatley filed an election contest with the Alabama Republican Party.

A hearing between the two candidates ruled a provisional ballot initially not counted in the election a vote for Whatley making the race a tie.

Now, the winner of the District 27 seat, which serves parts of Lee, Russell, and Tallapoosa counties, is in question.

News leader 9 spoke with candidate Hovey on the race’s newest developments.

Hovey’s team has put in a motion to request a re-hearing.

Hovey says the provisional ballot in question should not have counted because the voter’s license was not registered in Alabama.

“We were concerned that the vote, no matter the feeling of the voter or the committee--the fact of the matter remains that she was not a registered voter, so there is no way that vote should have been counted,” Hovey said.

We are also still reaching out to Whatley’s team and will update this story if we get more information.

The eventual winner will challenge Democrat Sherri Reese in the November general election.

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