Such was the case Tuesday, where the fate of one seat on the town board remains in some doubt.

After polls closed, candidates Michael Fiocco and Andrew Allden were separated by only eight votes, the exact number of provisional ballots still outstanding in the small Chatham County seat.

Election officials said they must research whether the ballots are valid before adding them to the final tally. Results won't be certified until Nov. 10, but Fiocco said Allden congratulated him as the likely winner.

Some races in Pittsboro were more crystallized, as Mayor Randy Voller won a third term and incumbent Pamela Baldwin was re-elected to one of two seats on the Board of Commissioners.

Voller beat challenger Bill Crawford 392 votes to 328 votes, or 54 percent to 45 percent.

In a race for the Board of Commissioners, Baldwin won 461 votes, or 40 percent of ballots cast. Newcomers Fiocco and Allden earned 345 votes and 337 votes, respectively.

Voller, who has held the mayor's seat since 2005, called it an "affirmation" for the town's current leaders.

The 3,500-resident town has seen an estimated 35 percent growth since 2000, even as Pittsboro's sewer infrastructure struggled to keep pace with incoming residents.

Voller, a developer, piloted a successful bid to install liquor by the drink in Chatham and Pittsboro this spring, and he, along with Baldwin, has called for now-planned upgrades to the town's aging sewer plant.

Some of the campaign's hottest issues centered on planned growth in the town, which is expected to see an influx of newcomers as Triangle residents move south and west to Chatham in search of lower property taxes.

Fiocco, who works for a civil engineering firm, trailed Allden for much of the night but emerged in the second spot after Pittsboro's second of two precincts was tallied.

Election heads said Allden had not requested a recount.

Baldwin could not be reached for comment Tuesday, but Fiocco said it will be key for the town to address its lingering sewer capacity issues and growth in the coming years.

"Now the work begins," Fiocco said. "It's an exhausting process, but it's just the beginning."