12-vote margin sets Jacksonville council runoff

A special runoff election will take place next month for the top-two finishers in Tuesday’s special election for the vacant seat on the Jacksonville City Council.

Michael Dietz and Jeff Elmore were separated by 12 votes in the race. Dietz collected 40.7% of the vote while Elmore earned 39.5%. A third candidate, Pat Thomas, finished with 19.8% of the vote.

Because no candidate finished with more than 50%, there will be a runoff election between the two top vote recipients. That election is scheduled for July 7 and will take place at the Jacksonville Community Center, officials said.

Tuesday’s election was the first in Pulaski County since the start of the covid-19 emergency. It was originally scheduled for April 14, but was postponed because of the pandemic.

“I was very pleased with how the election went and I thought everything was run well,” Dietz, 61, said Wednesday.

“I’m very grateful and thankful,” Elmore, 49, said. “I’m ready to get going again to prepare for July 7.”

The candidates are running for the Ward 1, Position 1 seat, which was vacated by the retirement of Council Member Kenny Elliott. His retirement was effective at the end of last year.

The term will expire Dec. 31, 2022.

The county’s voting commission unanimously agreed

last month to hold the special election at one polling place because of coronavirus concerns. The same protocol will be followed for the runoff, said Bryan Poe, the county’s elections director.

A total of 939 votes were cast out of a pool of more than 15,400 registered voters. Most of the voters, 561 of them, participated in early voting, according to the final numbers. The results will become official June 19, at which time the runoff date of July 7 will be scheduled, according to the county’s election office.

Jacksonville Mayor Bob Johnson said he had hoped to a see a more robust turnout, but special elections historically generate lower-than-average participation. The coronavirus emergency also possibly contributed to the lower vote total, he said.

Election officials had hoped for a turnout of at least 1,500.

Poe said it is “fairly typical” to have fewer voters participating in a special election.

“Somewhere around 5% [turnout] is not unusual, especially when taking into consideration the pandemic, which prevented the candidates to go out and campaign as they normally would,” he said.

“One of the keys to turnout is campaigning,” he continued. “That means actually going out and talking to people face to face. All events have been canceled for about three months, so you’re going to see that reflected in the turnout.”

Officials decided to hold Tuesday’s special election at one place, the community center at 5 Municipal Drive. Poll workers and voters maintained social-distancing requirements throughout the balloting, Johnson said.

“I hung around after the election was over and spoke to the poll workers as they came out and they told me they felt safe,” Johnson said. “Everything went well.”

Poe said the upcoming runoff election, as well as early voting, will be held at the same site.

He, too, said Tuesday’s election ran smoothly, adding that those who didn’t arrive with masks were given one as they entered and everyone followed the rules without objection.

“Basically, everyone was able to walk straight through and vote,” Poe said. “There was no wait.”