Willie Weaver declared winner in Albany Ward II special election

ALBANY – The Dougherty County Elections Office confirmed Wednesday afternoon that Willie Weaver is the projected winner in the Albany City Commission Ward II special election after a reported discrepancy the day after the election.

The election-night results in the Albany City Commission Ward II special election initially showed Weaver, the former Albany Municipal Court judge and former Dougherty County School Board member, in a runoff with former City Commissioner Henry Mathis.

But election-night results put Weaver at 50.31% of the vote and the winner in the three-way contest to fill an unexpired term. No runoff will be necessary as was initially reported by the elections office.

Weaver received 322 votes out of 640 votes cast, Election Supervisor Ginger Nickerson said. Those numbers correspond with the results posted on the website of the Georgia Secretary of State’s office.

Questions were raised after the Dougherty County tabulation initially stated that Weaver received 49.61 percent of the vote. In order to be declared the winner, a candidate in Georgia must receive 50% plus one vote.

“Unofficial results show candidate Weaver at 50.31%,” Nickerson said. “The information on the Secretary of State’s website is correct.”

Rounding out the election results, former City Commissioner Mathis, who held the Ward II seat in the 2000s, finished second with 322 votes, or 38.91%. Finishing in third place was Muarlean Edwards with 60 votes, or 10.78%.

A total of 649 ballots were returned, either during early advanced voting, by absentee or on Election Day.

However, Nickerson said, six ballots cast were left blank for the commission contest. There were also three write-in votes cast during the election cycle, but since none of the names on the ballot were for qualified write-in candidates, they are not counted.

That accounts for the difference between the 649 and 640 figures.

The county’s results show that 8.8% of active voters in Ward II voted.

Weaver reported the discrepancy on Wednesday morning after noticing the difference in the numbers posted on the Secretary of State’s website. The numbers are unofficial until the certification process is complete, Nickerson said.

“Certification of the election results will take place on Monday,” she said.

Weaver will serve out the remainder of the current term, which ends at the end of the year. If he is to remain on the board, he will have to win re-election in the November general election.