Despite last-minute drama, Richland lawmaker narrowly avoids runoff in close SC election
State Rep. Jermaine Johnson, D-Richland, likely will be certified as the victor in the hotly contested Democratic primary race for South Carolina’s District 70 House seat.
But for about 15 minutes Thursday morning, that victory was called into question by the Richland County elections direction, Alexandria Stephens, who erroneously said that race would instead go to a runoff election later this month.
The vote certification hearing was adjourned before Stephens corrected her mistake, telling a reporter and Johnson’s opponent, Rep. Wendy Brawley, afterwards that she misspoke.
Richland County elections officials spent more than two hours Thursday morning counting 57 emergency ballots that had not been processed Tuesday night. When Stephens and other officials returned to the hearing, she announced that the newly county ballots would mean a runoff for the contentious District 70 seat.
That announcement was inaccurate.
Stephens said she misunderstood how much the victor needed to win by but was informed by the State Elections Commission that Johnson had enough of the vote to avoid a runoff.
Adding the 57 emergency ballots to the vote totals did not drastically change the District 70 race, adding just six votes to Brawley’s total. Prior to that change, Johnson had 50.19% of the vote. After the ballots were added, he was left with 50.11%, according to figures provided by the county elections office. Brawley initially had 47.75% of the vote. That changed nominally to 47.80% after the emergency ballots were added.
The State Election Commission, which certifies primary results, still must formally certify Johnson’s victory. That hearing is scheduled for 3 p.m. Friday.
“I’m not concerned about certification at all,” Johnson told The State Thursday. He said he spoke with state election officials earlier in the day, who confirmed a runoff would not be needed, pending Friday’s certification.
“It’s just unfortunate we’re even going through this,” he added, but said he trusts the system and believes the results are accurate.
Brawley was pleased after Stephens announced the runoff and thanked the county elections board for taking the time to get accurate numbers. Less than 20 minutes later, she received a call from Stephens explaining the error.
Brawley had already planned to challenge the election results, claiming there was a discrepancy between the county’s unofficial report and numbers reported by two precinct clerks Tuesday night. Stephens previously said her staff reviewed the precincts in question and found no discrepancy in the numbers but said there was a problem with the results tape posted by poll clerks.
Brawley questioned whether the latest figures are accurate but said until she sees the numbers herself, she doesn’t know if she will move forward with her plans to challenge the results.
“Even if they are correct, it’s apparent we have some serious problems in Richland County,” Brawley said.
The 57 emergency ballots were found in a bag after polls closed Tuesday night, which Stephens said was due to an oversight by poll workers. Brawley said that fact alone leads her to question the county’s results.
She also said the election hearing lacked transparency. For more than two hours during the hearing, Stephens and other officials left the room to process the 57 ballots. At times they returned and spoke in whispers with board members but shared little with the public until announcing the runoff.
“A lot apparently was decided away from the public,” Brawley said.
Brawley plans to attend the state certification hearing Friday.
The District 70 race has been particularly contentious in that it pit two sitting Democratic representatives against each other.
Brawley and Johnson represent District 70 and District 80 in Richland County, respectively, but those districts were consolidated when the state passed new redistricting maps last year. The pair faced off for the single remaining seat Tuesday.
If the state certifies the results in that race, Johnson will face Republican Vincent Wilson and Green Party candidate Charla Henson-Simons in the general election Nov. 8.
This story was originally published June 16, 2022 at 3:13 PM.
