State Democratic Party Overturns Results of Two Hardeman County School Board Races, Criminal Investigation Requested
Two school board races in the Hardeman County Democratic Primary Election have been overturned. The District 1 Position 2 race, in which Danita Woods initially won against Bradford T. Polk by 23 votes and the District 1 Position 3 race in which Larry McKinnie initially won against Quintessa “Quin” Stewart by 68 votes. {click here to read results from the May 5, 2026 primary election}
Candidates in the school board race contested the election results after a large number of votes came in through absentee-by-mail ballots.
“Because this was a Democratic primary, the contest was referred to the appropriate Party Primary Board,” said Tennessee Coordinator of Elections Mark Goins. “The Tennessee Democratic Party adjudicated the election contest on Saturday [May 30, 2026] and overturned the results in two Hardeman County school board races.”
Because the Tennessee Democratic Party overturned the results, Woods and McKinnie will no longer appear on the ballot in the August 6 General Election. Bradford T. Polk and Quintessa “Quin” Stewart are now declared as the democratic nominees for the August 6 General Ballot.
This leaves Democratic incumbent candidate Bradford T. Polk running unopposed for School Board District 1 Position 2 and Quintessa “Quin” Stewart will face Independent candidate CC Hadley for School Board District 1 Position 3.
State election officials said the evidence presented raised concerns about improper voter assistance involving absentee-by-mail ballots. According to Tennessee Coordinator of Elections Mark Goins, the findings led both the Tennessee Democratic Party and the State Division of Elections to take action prompting the party to overturn the election results and leading state officials to seek a criminal investigation.
“Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-6-207 prohibits any person convicted of voter fraud in any state from assisting another person with voting. The evidence before the Tennessee Democratic Party showed that an individual, who is legally prohibited from assisting voters because of a prior conviction regarding voter fraud in Tennessee, was involved in assisting absentee-by-mail voters in the two challenged school board races,” said Tennessee Coordinator of Elections Mark Goins. “This individual should not be participating in any voter assistance activities. In addition to the Tennessee Democratic party overturning the election results, the State Division of Elections has requested a criminal investigation.”
The individual in question was not named.
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