Tie broken in Midlands small town election by a single vote. Here’s who won
An election night tie was broken this week when election officials accepted a single outstanding ballot that swung the vote in favor of the challenger.
Angie Alley was elected the newest member of Swansea Town Council by a single vote, defeating incumbent Linda Butler. That race was tied at 21 votes a piece when the Lexington County Election Commission met to certify the vote on Thursday.
But commissioners voted to accept a single ballot that had been cast provisionally on Election Day, which decided the race in Alley’s favor. Voters can cast a provisional ballot if some question about their residence or eligibility comes up on Election Day. In this case, the commissioners determined the person was eligible to vote in Swansea District 1.
If no additional ballots had been accepted, Elections Director Lenice Shoemaker said the same two candidates would have had to go into a runoff election two weeks after the election, with hopes that it produce a different result.
But Swansea isn’t done voting yet. Because another member of the town council, Doris Simmons, was elected mayor on Tuesday, the town will also need to organize a special election to fill Simmons’ District 4 seat. That vote is tentatively scheduled for Feb. 17, Shoemaker said on Friday.
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