CENTREVILLE, Ala. (WIAT) — Barry Cooner has been certified as Centreville’s next mayor after provisional ballots broke a tie with incumbent Mike Oakley.

The Aug. 26 election ended in a 326–326 tie. On Tuesday, the City Council reviewed 10 provisional ballots. Four were accepted. Three went to Cooner and one to Oakley, giving Cooner a 329–327 lead.

“People could see the actual envelopes being opened and the votes read. And that’s, you know, that’s democracy,” said Centreville City Attorney Mitch Kemmer.

Two of the four ballot envelopes were unsealed, raising questions and confusion during the certification.

Oakley’s attorney, Joel Blankenship, said they will call for a recount to verify the results because of how close of a race it was.

Cooner said he was unaware of Oakley’s plans to c

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