Runoff Needed in Clayton

Election Day was yesterday, and big political news came out of Clayton. Virginia Stewart and incumbent Debbie Chisholm squared off for Post 3 of the Clayton City Council, and both received 126 votes each. Members of the Board of Elections spent Wednesday morning double checking each ballot. We spoke with Board of Elections supervisor Tammy Whitmire, and she tells us what was discovered during recounting:

“We looked at all the absentee ballots that were cast, we also went back through early voting, and the day of the election to make sure that all of those numbers remained the same. Everything came back exactly like it was, so it looks like we will have a runoff.”

With a runoff election in store, Whitmire says that the polls will re-open next month.

“(The runoff) will take place on December 1st. We will be handing out absentee ballots and early voting as quick as the state gets us that information.” say Whitmire

When a runoff election is called, there are different rules as to who can vote, according to code 21-2-501 article “C” of the Georgia code of elections (http://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/2010/title-21/chapter-2/article-12/21-2-501) Whitmire further explains the differences:

“Because a runoff is a continuation of this (November 3rd) election, those people who were entitled to vote on November 3rd, will be the ones who were entitled to vote on December 1st.”

More information about this runoff election will be provided in the upcoming weeks.