November election recount, certification on agenda for panel’s Wednesday meeting in Atlantic Beach

ATLANTIC BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — Atlantic Beach election officials are scheduled to take up November’s disputed mayoral election at a meeting Wednesday afternoon.

The three-member Municipal Election Commission is set to meet at 1 p.m. at the town’s community center to take up the “Required Recount of Ballots” and the “Certification of the Elections,” according to a meeting agenda.

The panel had a meeting planned for last Wednesday, but it was canceled because acting chairman Kenneth Mciver was the only commissioner who showed up. Commissioners Derrick Stevens and Carole Gore told Mciver the night before that they had a family emergency and would not be able to attend.

Officials have yet to certify the results of the Nov. 7 election between John David and Josephine Isom. Unofficial results showed that Isom, a town council member and mayor pro tem, defeated David 62-49. However, during a Nov. 9 recount, 18 challenged ballots were approved during a certification hearing that swung the vote in favor of David, 65-64.

Prior to seemingly being elected mayor in November, David also ran for a vacant seat on the town council in January 2023. He received the most votes in a runoff election with Michael Isom, Joesphine Isom’s son, but was not able to take office until January because Michael Isom challenged his residency.

After the November election, the town council disbanded the election commission only to bring it back a little more than two weeks later and fire chairman Joe Montgomery. Mciver, a former member of the committee, was later appointed as the acting chairman.

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Dennis Bright is a Digital Producer at News13. He joined the team in May 2021. Dennis is a West Virginia native and a graduate of Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Follow Dennis on, Facebook, X, formerly Twitter, and read more of his work here.

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