One runoff is certain; two others are possible

Caison Kirkland, The Valdosta Daily Times, Ga.
·4 min read

May 22—VALDOSTA — Lowndes County voters are guaranteed one runoff following Tuesday's primary voting, but provisional ballots may cause up to two others.

Provisional ballots are employed when there's a question about the voter's credentials. It could be simply a question of an address or the proper voting precinct, or even a question of whether the voter is actually registered. If the question can't be quickly resolved at the polling place, the voter is allowed to vote a provisional ballot and officials will research the question in the days following the election. Depending on the results of their investigation, the ballot may count or may not.

In Tuesday's election, Lowndes County produced 59 provisional ballots, and depending on whether they count and how those voters voted, both contested Lowndes County Board of Education races could go to a runoff.

Under Georgia law, a candidate must receive more than half the votes cast to win an election. That's not a problem with two candidates, but often when there are three or more candidates, no one can reach that threshold. The result is another election that includes only the top two vote-getters.

A runoff is assured in the Republican District 5 County Commission race. Five candidates vied on Tuesday, with the top vote getter reaching only 30.74% of the votes. Michael Smith received 1,496 votes; Tommy Willis, 1,183; James Puckett, 969; David Sims, 779; and Savannah Baker, 440.

The winner of the runoff between Smith and Willis must still face Democrat Ron J. Bythwood, who ran unopposed. That election will take place Nov. 5.

A second runoff is indicated by the vote totals before counting provisional ballots. In the race for Board of Education District 7, Chris Buescher received 503 votes, which is 49.90% of the total votes cast for the position; G. Edward "Eddie" Smith, the incumbent, received 322; and Larry Godwin received 183. If those numbers stand, Buescher and Smith will meet in a runoff; if enough of the provisionals voted for Buescher, he could get over the 50% threshold.

The other potential runoff appears less likely. In the race for Board of Education District 5, incumbent Robert McGeehan received 438 votes, which is 54.89% of the votes, compared to Tessa Greene Carder with 196 and Chelsea Carter with 164. Depending on how many provisional ballots are from within this district, how many counted and how they voted, a runoff could happen.

Provisional ballots are expected to be reconciled Thursday morning, a Lowndes County elections official said.

According to the Georgia Secretary of State's website, a runoff would be scheduled for June 18, with a short early voting period before that.

Whether decided by provisional ballots this week or by a runoff next month, the winner of each Board of Education race will take office in January. Board of Education seats are nonpartisan, so they are decided in a single election rather than a party primary followed by a general election.

Other contested races were resolved with Tuesday's voting:

— Clay Guess overcame incumbent Rodney V. Cain for the Republican nomination for Lowndes County Tax Commissioner, 3,652 votes to Cain's 2,574. Guess will be unopposed in the November general election.

— Latoya S. Gordon won the Democratic nomination for Lowndes County coroner over John "Big John" Hogan, 1,794 votes to Hogan's 1,284. Gordon will face incumbent Austin Fiveash, the sole Republican candidate, in November.

— In the race to succeed retiring Superior Court Judge Richard Cowart, Valdosta attorney William Whitesell won in Lowndes County over Valdosta Municipal Court Judge Jeremy Baker, 5,335 votes to 4,079. Across the five-county judicial circuit, Whitesell received 11,802 votes to Baker's 9,914. Since this is a nonpartisan race, Whitesell will take office in January.

— In another regional contest, Darrius Butler overcame Vince Watkins to become the Democratic Party nominee for U.S. House of Representatives District 8. In Lowndes County, Butler received 2,389 votes to Watkins' 546. The district includes all or part of 29 counties, however, and as of 5 p.m. Wednesday only 96.55% of the precincts had reported, according to the Secretary of State's website. At that time Butler had 15,691 votes to Watkins' 6,207 across the district. Butler will face incumbent Austin Scott, the only Republican candidate, in November.