Santrail Hunt-Kuykendall topped fellow Charlestonian Tawanda Smith Shannon, 171-162, in unofficial results from Tuesday's general election runoff for Education District 7.
That said, enough uncounted affidavit ballots remain to potentially alter the outcome, plus a challenge has been filed seeking to overturn the results of the Nov. 8 general election for school board that led to Tuesday's runoff.
Tallahatchie County District 3 Election Commissioner Yolanda Cotton said Tuesday night that 14 affidavit ballots are outstanding, including 10 "regular" polling place affidavits and four cast due to voters not presenting an acceptable form of photo ID at the poll. Under state law, voters have five business days after the election to submit evidence of photo ID to the circuit clerk's office so that their affidavit ballot can be counted.
The county's five election commissioners will review all of the affidavit ballots to determine which, if any, meet the legal requirements that would allow them to be added to the final runoff count.
Meanwhile, on Monday, Nov. 28, the day before the Nov. 29 runoff, James "Honey" Johnson filed a petition to contest the Nov. 8 general election — seeking a judicial review of the Education District 7 results, in particular. Under state law, a contest to election results must be filed within 20 days after the election. Monday was the last possible day to file.
Johnson, 69, finished last in the three-person ED7 race for a seat on the East Tallahatchie School District Board of Trustees. Shannon, 48, and Hunt-Kuykendall, 36, placed first and second, respectively. Only 31 votes, out of a total of 704 cast, separated the leader from the third-place finisher.
Filed in the First Judicial District of Tallahatchie County Circuit Court at Charleston, Johnson's seven-page petition raises concerns that errors may have been made "in providing proper ballots to the voters of the district."
Five precincts — Charleston 1, 2 and 3, Murphreesboro and Spring Hill — have registered voters who live within the boundaries of ED7. Some precincts are split, meaning that some of their voters live in ED7 and some do not, necessitating two differently styled ballots on Election Day.
Johnson's petition suggests that some general election voters not living in ED7 were nevertheless given a ballot that featured the race, while others whose ballot should have included the school board race did not.
The Murphreesboro precinct, for instance, has only 19 registered voters whose place of residence entitles them to vote in ED7. However, a total of 87 general election ballots were cast at Murphreesboro for ED7 candidates.
Johnson's petition notes that "some individuals that are not residents of the district [were] provided ballots containing the candidates' names while other individuals that are residents of the district and entitled to vote for the candidate of their choice" did not receive a ballot featuring the ED7 race.
In addition, his petition charges that absentee ballots were not handled or counted properly by the general election Resolution Board, noting, "Upon information and belief, the Resolution Board erred in their determination of some ballots that were accepted that were required to be rejected."
Johnson's petition asks the court to rule that he be certified as a candidate for the runoff election, or that the results of the general election be tossed completely and a special election called for a later date.
State law provides that the circuit clerk must notify the chief justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court to appoint a circuit judge or chancellor from outside the circuit court district to preside over the case, and that the contest be heard at "the earliest possible date."
