Less than a dozen votes make the difference in a race to the Tennessee House of Representatives.

It was a face-off between Sullivan County's Tony Shipley and Ben Mallicote for the second district seat.

"A friend of mine told me he said, 'It's going to be a close race,' but I said, 'I agree with you,' but I didn't think it would be this close," said resident J.D. Bacon.

It was a close race that we found out over 80 percent of people in the district did not participate in.

We crunched the numbers and found out with over 36,425 registered voters in Sullivan County's second district, just 6,799, or about 19 percent, cast a ballot in that election.

"In an August election, any primary election you generally see a lower turnout than we would prefer," said Sullivan County Election Administrator Jason Booher.

But now the question remains, will the votes be recounted?

Booher said they will not.

"Tennessee law does not provide for a recount, actually you can't have a recount in the state of Tennessee," Booher explained.

We found out the Sullivan County Election Commission canvassed, or re-checked, all the votes Friday morning, but they won't be certified until August 14th. That means there still is actually time for a candidate to call for a challenge.

From certification to five days afterwards, a candidate can contest the election through a special board.

"In this case, it would be the Republican Party Primary Board, and they would make a determination on any alteration or difference in the race," Booher said.

But whether the race is contested or unopposed, voters told News 5 this race shows their vote can really make a difference.

"I told my wife that if it hasn't been for our two votes and nine others, we would've been in trouble," said Glenn Milhorn, a Shipley supporter.

"People need to get out and vote instead of thinking somebody's got it, but it always don't work that way. You gotta get out and vote. If you cast your vote it could make a lot of difference," said Bacon.

We also learned, the second district primary race in Sullivan County had the most voters from the three districts.

Booher said it's likely that was because of the Shipley/Mallicote race.