The runoff election to replace former DeKalb County Commissioner Elaine Boyer will be held Tuesday at polling places across the northern parts of the county.

Republican Nancy Jester will face independent Holmes Pyles in the runoff. The winner will represent more than 140,000 residents in District 1, which includes Brookhaven, Chamblee, Doraville, Dunwoody, Tucker and surrounding areas.

Turnout is expected to be low because this is the sole race on the ballot, and only voters who live in District 1 are eligible to cast ballots in-person at their precincts.

Early voting ended last week. Fifty-nine people voted in-person, and 465 mailed absentee ballots had been received by the DeKalb elections office as of Monday morning.

Boyer resigned in August before pleading guilty to federal fraud charges that she bilked taxpayers out of more than $93,000.

Five candidates competed in the Nov. 4 election for the vacant seat, but none came close to receiving more than 50 percent of votes cast, which forced the runoff.

Pyles unexpectedly received the most votes -- 26 percent -- as Republicans split their support among his four Republican opponents. Pyles, 86, is a retired state government employee who has never run for office before.

Jester came in second, with 24 percent of the vote. Jester is a former member of the DeKalb school board who also ran in the Republican primary for state schools superintendent earlier this year.

Please read The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's previous coverage for more information about the race:

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