Atlantic Beach declares mayoral race invalid
ATLANTIC BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — In a special meeting held by Atlantic Beach’s Election Commission Wednesday afternoon, the commission deemed the mayoral race invalid.
The special meeting was held after mayoral candidate, Josephine Isom, filed a protest hearing.
The town met on Wednesday to receive legal advice. During the meeting, the town’s election commission held an executive session two different times.
The meeting started around 1 p.m. in the town’s Community Center and hours later, the commission deemed the mayoral race invalid.
Thirteen of the 19 challenged ballots from November’s election were considered fraudulent. The commission said those thirteen voters were not residents at the time of the election.
However, the commission certified two council members, Jackie Gore and Carla Taylor.
Both of the mayoral candidate’s attorneys were present and took turns speaking.
During November’s election the nineteen ballots challenged were from Irene Armstrong.
Armstrong is a former Atlantic Beach mayor who’s been charged with election bribery. In years past, those charges have been dismissed.
During today’s special meeting, Armstrong claims she was a poll watcher for Jackie Gore, one of the newly elected councilwomen.
Isom said residents who are renovating or building houses, or who she doesn’t know, shouldn’t be considered a town resident.
Out of the nineteen originally challenged, Isom only challenged fourteen of them without giving reasoning.
John David is the other mayoral candidate, and his attorney is Ian Duggan.
During the meeting, Duggan rebutted Isom’s argument by giving the Election Commission eleven exhibits proving the resident’s residency.
“I’m still confused,” Duggan said. “It’s still being modified today. She’s not adding it, she’s taking off and we respect Ms. Isom, she’s lived here a long time. I grew up in a small town and I think it would be very bold of me to say that I knew everybody’s whereabouts every day of the week in every way of context.”
News 13 spoke to Isom’s attorney, Kenneth Davis. Davis said the next step is to wait for a written order. He continued saying either party can appeal the decision.
There will be a special election, but the date was not announced during the meeting.
Count on News 13 for updates.
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Jackie LiBrizzi is a multimedia journalist at News13. Jackie is originally from Hamilton, New Jersey, and was raised in Piedmont, South Carolina. Jackie joined the News13 team in June 2023 after she graduated as a student-athlete from the University of South Carolina in May 2023. Follow Jackie on X, formerly Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, and read more of her work here.
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