Two mayoral races in same county decided by single votes

By Rhonda Cook

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Elections for mayor in two  Franklin County towns were each decided by a single vote.

Franklin Springs Mayor Brian James gets to keep his job-- possibly. In the town next door, Royston, Mayor Bill Stewart has lost his -- maybe.

James got 119 votes to challenger Lee Moore’s 118. Former Royston City Council member David Jordan had 225 votes, once a provisional ballot was counted, to Stewart's 224.

"Isn’t that weird?"  Franklin Springs Mayor Brian James said Friday. "The city limits touch. The lines actually meet at a shopping center. It's strange it would be this close."

In both races, the results were not immediate. And there is still the possibility of challenges.

“The first day, they [James and Moore] were tied and I was leading,” said Stewart, who won in Royston four years ago by 20 votes.

“Come the second day, we [Stewart and Jordan] were tied and the [Franklin Springs] mayor went up by one. By Thursday, I was down by one,” Stewart said Friday.

According to election officials, the machine count missed one ballot in the election in Franklin Springs, a northeast Georgia town of two square miles and 760 people. The oversight was discovered during a hand count on Wednesday.

James was elected to a third term.

"If I get to stay  mayor, my intention will be to try my best to bring some unity back to this community," James said. James had no opposition in 2000 or 2004 so this was the first time in many years  there was a race for mayor of Franklin Springs, a town with a budget of less than $500,000. [James' predecessor served off and on for 32 years]

Meanwhile in Royston, a community of 2,900 people, Stewart was leading until the hand recount Wednesday turned up three ballots – two votes for Jordan and one for Stewart. That tied it.

Then on Thursday a provisional ballot was opened after the voter returned with his ID.

That vote was for Jordan.

“I’m notifying the secretary of state as to what has gone on,” Stewart said.

He added that he has not decided if he will officially challenge the tally. Moore has said he will not challenge the results in the Franklin Springs election but some believe that decision is not firm.

Stewart said the outcome of the Royston mayoral election has been interesting.

“If you wait a little bit longer,” Stewart said, “it could be a better one.”