Ward 8 Race Heads to Recanvass Thursday

Christian County officials will recheck the closest Hopkinsville city council race, decided by 27 unofficial votes.

Updated on Nov. 10, 2026 in Elections

Bold flat-color editorial illustration of a low limestone government building with a tall flagpole under a grey sky, evoking a quiet civic recount. — Christian County officials will recanvass the closest Hopkinsville Ward 8 council race Thursday after Democrat Tiffany Pittman requested review of a 27-vote unofficial margin over Republican Stephen Crisp. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

The Christian County Board of Elections will conduct a recanvass of the Hopkinsville Ward 8 city council race at 9 a.m. Thursday, November 12, in the Christian County Fiscal Court Room. Unofficial results from the November 3 election show Republican Stephen Crisp with 3,690 votes and Democrat Tiffany Pittman with 3,663 votes.

Why it matters

Because the margin is less than one percent of votes cast for the office, Pittman requested the recanvass, which Kentucky law allows a candidate to compel. The review determines whether the unofficial totals were accurately tabulated for a race that could decide Ward 8's council representation.

Unofficial results show Crisp leading Pittman by 27 votes, with Pittman gaining 96 votes on election day and Crisp leading early voting by 172 votes. The recanvass outcome will determine whether the unofficial count holds.

The players

Christian County Board of Elections

The county body responsible for administering elections in Christian County, which is conducting the recanvass of the Ward 8 race.

Stephen Crisp

A Republican candidate in the Hopkinsville Ward 8 city council race, currently holding a 27-vote unofficial lead.

Tiffany Pittman

A Democrat candidate in the Hopkinsville Ward 8 city council race who requested the recanvass.

The details

A recanvass checks whether votes were accurately totaled and reported, with officials comparing machine results to the county's reported totals or retabulating results stored on equipment memory devices. Pittman received 137 absentee mail-in votes to Crisp's 82, while Crisp received 20 walk-in absentee votes to Pittman's 14.

November 3, 2026: General election held, with unofficial results showing Crisp ahead of Pittman.
Thursday, November 12, 2026, 9 a.m.: Christian County Board of Elections conducts the recanvass in the Christian County Fiscal Court Room.

Legal Context

Kentucky law lets a candidate compel a recanvass whenever the margin falls below one percent of votes cast for the office. The Ward 8 margin of about four-tenths of one percent places this local contest within that statutory threshold.

Ward 8 voters will learn whether the council seat outcome holds after the recanvass checks the tabulated totals. The result determines which candidate represents the ward on the city council.

The takeaway

Close races can hinge on a few dozen votes, so official recanvass procedures exist to confirm that reported totals match the ballots counted. Readers tracking local elections should watch for the certified result after Thursday's review.

What happens next

The Christian County Board of Elections will conduct the Ward 8 recanvass at 9 a.m. Thursday, November 12, 2026, in the Christian County Fiscal Court Room.