Thomas Taylor, Marcus Arnett, Myles Paramore, and other write-ins adjudicated to Jeffery Clements in November 5 election for Lower Chattahoochee River Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor
Published 4:49 pm Friday, January 17, 2025
It was brought to the attention of the Americus Times-Recorder by The Coalition for Good Governance that there were write-in votes that did not match the candidate they were assigned to in the November 5 election for the position of Lower Chattahoochee River Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor. While a representative of the Coalition stated it would not have changed the outcome of the election, the sheer number was cause for alarm.
There were no candidates on the ballot for the position, requiring voters to write in their own candidate. The Americus Times-Recorder independently verified over four dozen write-ins that did not appear to match the candidate they were adjudicated to after reviewing files from the Secretary of State’s office. Files reviewed were Pre 406 Andersonville, 124 votes, Pre 407 Leslie, 132 votes, Pre 408 Leslie, 171 votes, Pre 409 Airport, 54 votes, Pre 410 Airport, 70 votes, and Pre 410 Andersonville, 200 votes. A total of 49 write-ins were discovered (including a few that appeared blank) out of a total of 751 votes that did not appear to match the candidate they were adjudicated to.
Write-ins such as Thomas Taylor, Marcus Arnett, Myles Paramore, Jones, Dillan Brogden, Sam Peavy, Anthony Dunning, and Clay Jones were all adjudicated to Jeffery Clements.
The Americus Times-Recorder has reached out to the Chair of the Board of Elections Dr. Shirley Latimore for comment, and was told to address questions and Freedom of Information Act requests to the Elections Supervisor, LaSandra Patterson. When asked for comment, Patterson replied no comment as of now.
According to a recent FOIA request, the total number of write-in votes for Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor was 1,750, with only six write-ins unresolved. The category of candidate was left blank, but was listed as having 1,750 total votes.
It is unclear as to why the adjudications were made. In a Sumter County Board of Elections meeting November 12, 2024, Patterson stated that Clements was the only qualified candidate for the position of Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor, which would result in the adjudications having no effect on the election.