There were three provisional ballots cast in the May primary in the 2nd Ward in Braddock. One decided the mayor's race that had been tied on election night.

While the race now has a winner -- John Fetterman with 149 votes -- the second-place candidate, Virginia Bunn, who received 148 votes, said she just wants to make sure that the last vote counted was done so appropriately. The numbers were finalized Monday.

Bunn was at the Allegheny County Division of Elections yesterday meeting with Maureen Mayer, the manager of balloting returns.

Mayer said the provisional ballots cast were submitted to the poll workers for the 2nd Ward in the borough municipal building. One of those ballots was disallowed entirely because the voter was not registered. The second was counted only for countywide races because, while the voter was registered, that registration was not in Braddock.

The third voter was registered in Braddock and ultimately allowed to vote and cast the deciding ballot.

Mayer said the provisional ballots that were cast reflected a change in the law in the last year. The law now allows anyone who is turned away from voting to cast a ballot that will then be counted if the Elections Division determines they were turned away in error.

"All I want is the right thing done, and getting that one [vote] afterward is not the right thing," Bunn said.

She said she plans to consult her attorney, though she concedes that the advice she may receive could be just to let it go.

With the one-vote win, Fetterman is the presumptive mayor-elect after the Democratic primary because there is no Republican candidate.

The third candidate in the primary, incumbent Mayor Pauline Abdullah, received 128 votes. Abdullah has served as Braddock's mayor since 1998.

"One vote is hardly a mandate," Fetterman said about his victory. "I just want to work with [Bunn's] supporters and Pauline's supporters to build a better Braddock."

He said he was "deeply humbled and appreciative of the support he received in the election."

Fetterman has been a resident of Braddock for two years. He lives in a small warehouse he has converted into his home.

He is a social worker who runs two programs in Braddock: the Braddock Out of School Youth Program and a General Educational Development program for people who dropped out of high school and want to earn their GED certificate.

His campaign was supported enthusiastically by many of the youths with whom he works. Signs and stickers advertising "JKF" for mayor appeared all over Braddock. There was even a "JKF" billboard at the corner of Sixth Street and Braddock Avenue.

Bunn and her supporters have said that support was a bit too enthusiastic: Fetterman's workers were putting his stickers over her signs. Fetterman has apologized for any over-zealousness by workers.

Bunn said she just hopes that the youths learn there is a right way and a wrong way to handle themselves in a political campaign.