File this one under the category, “Every Vote Matters.”

The race for the Republican nomination in the 117th Legislative District between incumbent Mike Cabell and challenger Jamie Walsh is still too close to call even 10 days after primary day.

Walsh, a Ross Township gutter installation company owner, holds the slimmest of leads over Cabell, the first-term representative from Butler Township – four votes.

The final count on Election Day had Walsh ahead by eight votes, 4,723 to 4,715, but his lead narrowed due to evaluating previously uncounted ballots.

During the adjudication process, the County Election Board reviewed the legitimacy of hundreds of uncounted mail-in, absentee, and military ballots to ensure they comply with state law. Only the provisionals remain.

Provisional ballots are distributed to voters whose name does not appear in a poll book or does not appear to be registered among other reasons. Voters may always complete a ballot at a polling place – it is up to the county board to determine its validity.

There are 14 ballots from voters that are being challenged during a Friday afternoon meeting of the Luzerne County Board of Elections & Registration. As of Tuesday, Walsh’s lawyers had challenged 12 provisional ballots. Cabell would need to get the vote in 10 of the 14 provisional ballots to win, while capturing only nine to Walsh’s five would leave the race deadlocked.