This Middle Tennessee town saw a commission seat decided by 9 votes: What happens next?

Change is coming to Millersville after voters from across Robertson and Sumner Counties elected three new commissioners to office Nov. 5 amid a tumultuous 2024.

Six people ran for the city's three open commission seats. The last spot was decided by just nine votes with Jesse Powell ousting incumbent Alisa Huling.

Lincoln Atwood won his seat easily, accruing the most votes, 1,033, between the two counties Millersville calls home.

Dustin Darnall also secured a spot on the commission after collecting 871 votes. The third seat, however, remains contentious with Powell taking home 834 votes to Huling's 825.

A relative newcomer, Huling was trying to earn the seat she took over in late 2023. Incumbents Cristina Templet and Milton Dorris did not seek re-election.

Here are the final vote totals for Millersville commission:

Lincoln Atwood – 1,033

Jeremy Crumpton – 592

Dustin Darnall – 871

Alisa Huling – 825

Jesse Powell – 834

M Lynn Smith – 539

With a vote so close, what's next? Sumner County Election Administrator Lori Atchley told The Tennessean the votes between the two counties will be certified by Sumner County as it houses Millersville's City Hall.

Atchley said once the vote is certified by the election commission board during a 4 p.m. meeting on Nov. 21, any candidate who wishes to contest the results has five days, no later than Nov. 26, to file a challenge in Sumner County Chancery Court.

With a race so close, is there an automatic recount? Atchley said Sumner County goes through extensive checks and balances to ensure every vote is properly counted.

"We balance down to every single vote," Atchley said.

Social media was afire on the Facebook group "Millersville Monkey Business " with some alleging they were given Goodlettsville ballots while attempting to vote in Millersville.

Atchley said she has received about 10 calls from people complaining that a neighbor was able to vote on a certain race while they did not. Many voters may not know exactly what district they are in, especially when it comes to state and local races, she explained.

When a resident appeared to vote in-person on Nov. 5, Atchley said they would verify their address, sign in with the registrar and then a worker would take them to a machine and load their ballot, based on their specific address, to ensure they were voting in the right district.

Once the ballot was on screen, Atchley said the voter would make selections, and then every selection would be printed on a piece of paper to verify the decisions and create a paper audit trail. Then, the voter had to hit the cast ballot button to officially send in the votes.

Most of the calls Atchley said she received came in two or three days later or up to two weeks after early voting.

"There's a big sign that says once you press this button (cast ballot), there's absolutely nothing we can do," Atchley said, noting that she asked those who were questioning their ballots a series of questions to ensure they were aware of what was on the ballot and what their final ballot looked like before they submitted it.

"You're (at least) 18, because you're voting. You have to take responsibility," Atchley said.

While she says mistakes can happen, Atchley believes there was enough oversight to ensure a nearly "fool proof" way to cast a ballot. And for those wondering whether they got a Goodlettsville ballot in Millersville, she says if that was the case, it was correct since a person's ballot is loaded based on his or her address.

What happens if a candidate contests the election? Atchley said a contested election would lead to a judge asking for reasons why they are contesting.

In the event someone comes forward and says their ballot was mistakenly cast for a Goodlettsville race, the judge will ask why that person still voted and hit the cast ballot button if they knew it was wrong, she said.

Reach reporter Craig Shoup by email at and on X To support his work, sign up for a digital subscription to www.tennessean.com.