A memorandum provided to Reidsville officials Tuesday indicates a runoff election for one city council post will not be held in December as originally planned.
At issue is whether city council races are determined by a plurality or a majority. A plurality is achieved by a candidate who obtains the most votes, even if no one reaches 50%. A majority is achieved by a candidate who obtains 50% of the vote, plus one more. In instances of a majority, if a candidate does not received at least 50% of the vote on election day, the top two candidates go to a runoff election so that a majority can be achieved.
The city charter displayed on Municode and on file at city hall states that the mayor’s race is decided by a plurality and city council members are elected by majority. Similarly, under Georgia law, if it is not explicitly mentioned that an election is decided by a plurality, the default is state law which determines a prevailing candidate by the candidate who receives a majority of the votes.
During last Tuesday’s election, Ward 1, Post 2 was split by three candidates: Carolyn Blackshear (I), Beitha Griffin, and Nathaniel Joyce.
| # of votes | Total percentage | |
| Carolyn Blackshear | 53 | 45.3% |
| Beitha “Bea Butler” Griffin | 47 | 40.17% |
| Nathaniel Joyce | 17 | 14.53% |
A runoff election was scheduled for December 2 and the process of printing ballots was underway Monday, with calls for the election on display for public review.
Former City Official Brings Issue to Council
During public comment on Monday night, former city official Curtis Colwell told council members that he was on council when “they” voted to change the charter to make city elections conclude with a plurality of votes as opposed to a majority of votes because runoff elections cost money. Colwell said he was on the council since the 1970s and he knew they changed it at some point between the 1970s and 2023 when he was defeated by current mayor Vickie Nail.
When city attorney DuAnn Davis arrived, she reported to the city council that she had been contacted by the Tattnall County Board of Elections around 4:45 p.m. about an amendment to the city charter that was approved by the Georgia legislature back in 2000. She stated she was not in a position to provide the council with an explanation on the spot because she needed to conduct research and verify with state records. The Board of Elections office was reportedly notified of the change from 2000 by Evans County Probate Judge Darrin McCoy.
Memo from Davis
Davis stated in her memo that council members ‘must be elected by a plurality of qualified voters.
Davis’ memo concedes that the municode copy and the hard copy at city hall state that council members are elected by a majority, but the charter was amended in the legislature, at the request of city council, but was never formally updated at the local level.
The changes made by the General Assembly in 2000 include:
“SECTION 2.8. Election of Mayor; Term of Office; Vacancy.
The mayor shall be elected by a plurality vote of the registered voters of the City voting in the election for mayor for a term of office of four years. In case of a vacancy in the office of mayor, the remaining members of the city council shall elect from their members a successor for the unexpired term.”
SECTION 2. Said Act is further amended by striking in its entirety subsection (b) of Section 5.1 and inserting in lieu thereof the following: “(b) The two offices of councilmen from Ward 1 shall be designated Post 1 and Post 2 and the three offices of councilmen from Ward 2 shall be designated Post 1, Post 2, and Post 3. Any person desiring to offer as a candidate for councilman shall designate the post for which such person is announcing. Such person shall be a bona fide resident of the ward in which such post is located immediately prior to such person’s official qualification as a candidate for such office and shall continue to reside therein during such councilman’s period of service. Each councilman shall be elected by a plurality of the qualified voters voting in such election and residing in the ward in which such councilman offers as a candidate.” (emphasis added)
SECTION 3. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.”
Davis said the charter has not been updated since 2000, so the 2000 amendment stands as law, despite it never being published for public review.
As a result, Davis said Blackshear is the prevailing candidate from last Tuesday’s election and no runoff election will be held. She wrote that she planned to contact the Board of Elections and the attorney for Tattnall County to notify them as well.
This means that the city charter on file at city hall and published for public consumption on Municode has been incorrect for the last 25 years. Brad Barnard was the mayor at the time of this passage and Van Cheney was the city attorney.
