For more than six months, Hurricane Mayoral candidate Sam Cole                                     has been claiming that                                  he lost the election to                               Scott Edwards because                                ballots were                                         mishandled.

Now, the West Virginia                              Secretary of State's                                    office has concluded                                    an investigation into                                       the election and says                                "administrative errors                                    did occur." However,                                   the letter also states,                                    "We are at this time                                   unable to substantiate                          allegations of election                           improprieties to a                                    degree sufficient to                                   pursue criminal investigative efforts by this office."

The letter does not state that the election should be invalidated nor does it recommend a replacement election.

Since the lection, Cole has leveled charges that a ballot box of early votes was left unlocked, a charge that has been substantiated by two Hurricane Police Officers. It was votes from that box that pushed Edwards into the lead in the final hours of the election, June 12th, 2007.

In addition to complaints filed with the Betty Ireland's office, Cole filed suit petitioning the court to throw out the ballots. Putnam Circuit Judge Norbert "Ed" Eagloski ruled that Cole's suit wasn't filed in time, leaving Edwards as Mayor without addressing the issue of whether the ballots were tampered with.

Neither Cole, Edwards, or Gibson were available for comment over the weekend when the letter was provided to PutnamLIVE.com. Voice mails and emails have not been returned.

In prior interviews, Edwards said he believes the election results were proper and Gibson denied any improprieties.

It remains to be seen if either will resign or if Cole or anyone else will file a civil suit based on Ireland's investigation.