The Hahira rule is plurality, not 50% plus 1.

According to email to Gretchen from John Hallman with the Georgia Secretary of State, containing a forward from Jonathan Sumner, Hahira City Manager, originally copied to all the Hahira candidates, Mayor and Council, and many city employees on 25 October 2013:

Subject: No Runoff after General Election

Mayor, Councilmembers, Candidates,

In response to a question submitted to our City Attorney and myself earlier today by Supervisor of Elections Deb Cox, we have determined that a runoff after the November general election is not allowed under our current or even the old Charter (except in the extreme unlikelihood of a tie). The original 1912 charter stated,

“SEC. 4. Be it further enacted, That the superintendents of elections shall duly declare the result of said elections, and shall issue certificates of election to such persons as receive the highest number of legal votes polled, who shall at such time and place as may be prescribed by the ordinances of said town qualify by taking an oath to well and truly perform the duties of their respective offices as such mayor and Councilmen, or other offices, during their term of office, which oath, with certificate of election given by the said superintendents, shall be entered of record on the minutes of said Council, and the originals filed in the office of the clerk of the Council.”

When the 1912 charter was restated in 2010, it was determined by Mayor and Council to keep as much of the intent of the original charter as possible; to this end, the following is found in the current charter,

“Sec. 5.14 Election by Plurality

The person receiving a plurality of the votes cast for any city office shall be elected.”

In the 2010 charter, the term “plurality” is not defined. However, in the absence of local guidance, the interpretation of “plurality” reverts to state law:

“O.C.G.A. 21-2-501

(b) For the purposes of this subsection, the word “plurality” shall mean the receiving by one candidate alone of the highest number of votes cast. If the municipal charter or ordinances of a municipality as now existing or as amended subsequent to September 1, 1968, provide that a candidate may be nominated or elected by a plurality of the votes cast to fill such nomination or public office, such provision shall prevail. Otherwise, no municipal candidate shall be nominated for public office in any primary or elected to public office in any election unless such candidate shall have received a majority of the votes cast to fill such nomination or public office.”

Therefore, the winner of the general election is determined by that candidate that receives the highest number of votes cast in that election, not 50% +1, which would necessitate a runoff if no candidate reached that threshold.

If there are any questions, please let me know.

Jonathan

Jonathan Sumner
City Manager
City of Hahira
102 South Church Street
Hahira, GA 31632
Ph (229) 794-2829
Fx (229) 794-9310
http://www.hahira.ga.us

So we’ll know tonight who won the elections in Hahira.

I added the link to Georgia Code. I would have added links to the old and new Hahira charters, but I couldn’t find them online. I did find Hahira’s own website says:

The town of Hahira received its Charter, incorporating the community, on October 2, 1891.

Perhaps there have been three Hahira charters: in 1891, 1912, and 2010. The Hahira City Council minutes of 3 May 2010 and 1 June 2010 include some discussion of charter changes, and the law actually passed by the legislature in 2011 was HB 466,

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT To amend an Act to incorporate the City of Hahira, approved August 19, 1912 (Ga. L. 1912, p. 951), as amended, particularly by a home rule amendment filed with the Office of the Secretary of State January 24, 2011, so as to provide that councilmembers shall reside in their respective districts for a period of at least 12 months immediately prior to election and shall continue to reside in such district during his or her period of service; to provide for the filling of vacancies; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

That bill says nothing about plurality or majority or runoffs, so indeed it didn’t change whatever the 1912 charter said about those things.

The Hahira races this plurality rule in the 2010 charter affects are

• for Mayor: Bruce Cain, Rose Adams, the incumbent, Wayne Bullard, and Johnny L. Stalvey.
• for City Council District 2: Kenneth Davis, Traci Selph Davis, Zakk Cumbess

Unaffected because no more than two candidates, and in fact both of these positions are unopposed:

• City Council District 1: Terry C. Benjamin
• City Council District 4: H. Mason Barfield

-jsq

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