“If any court trying a contested primary election determines there were irregularities of sufficient magnitude to cast doubt on the validity of the initial election, it may order a new primary election for the contested office,” reads the state statute. “The order shall set the date of the election, which shall not be less than fourteen or more than thirty days after the order is issued.”

The St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners certified the Aug. 2 results on Monday afternoon showing that Hubbard won by 90 votes, 2,203 to 2,113. Frank actually won 51 percent of the votes cast at polling places. But Hubbard received 78.5 percent of the absentee votes, tipping the election her way.

Dave Roland, attorney for Franks, said he is confident “a great number of absentee ballots were improperly applied for and improperly cast.”

There are six reasons a voter can legally cast an absentee ballot, and five of them require that the voter swear under oath that he or she cannot make it to the polls on Election Day. They are: being out of town, incarceration, religious belief or practice, employment as an election worker at a place other than the worker’s polling place, and “certified participant in the address confidentiality program” established because of safety concerns.