News About (and Around) Town:  The Matthews area House of Representatives (District 103) race has been a real nail biter. At the close of election day current Representative Bill Brawley led challenger Rachel Hunt by 52 votes out of 38,000 cast.

However, after the polls closed there were absentee and provisional ballots to count.  Absentee ballots must have been postmarked by November 6 and received by 5 PM on November 9. Following the absentee ballot count last Friday, Ms. Hunt edged ahead by 64 votes with a tally of 19,102 (Hunt) to 19,038 (Brawley).  

A provisional ballot is cast when there is a question regarding a person's eligibility to vote (see more here: https://www.ncsbe.gov/Voting-Options/Provisional-Voting), or if they've arrived at the wrong precinct. Following election day each provisional ballot is researched to determine if the voting issue can be resolved. The research is presented to the Board of Elections and they make the final determination on whether the ballot is eligible and will count. Provisional ballots were verified and tallied yesterday, which resulted in a 68 vote lead by Ms. Hunt over Mr. Brawley. The deadline to certify the election is today at 11 AM.

Since the final tally has less than 1% separating the candidates, Mr. Brawley has requested a recount, which will most likely happen early next week.

One Fun Thing: This Saturday Matthews United Methodist (801 South Trade Street) will have over 80 artists and crafts people selling their handmade goods just in time for the holiday gift-giving season. Ready-to-serve bake sale items will be the perfect addition to your Thanksgiving table. Lunch will also be available for sale with those proceeds benefiting Christ Our Shepherd Kids. Saturday, November 17, from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm