TIFT CO., Ga. (WALB) - In Tift County, a school board election has been deemed invalid by a superior court judge, and a new election date has been granted.

Earlier this year, Ambrose King Jr. filed a petition to contest the election results for the Tift County Board of Elections District 1 Representative and requested a new election. King had lost the primary election to incumbent Marilyn Burks by 2 votes. Both ran as Democrats.

On August 30th, Tift County Superior Court Judge Howard McClain, ruled “....that Casey’s Court Apartments (”Complex”) was inadvertently and incorrectly designated in District 6, when it should have properly been designated in District 1, which thereby resulted in at least six voters receiving an irregular ballot.”

WALB reached out to Burkes to see what she had to say about the ruling.

“I am a law-abiding person and I, you know, certainly I am one who supports the safeguard of rights of voters,” said Burks. “I am certainly a strong proponent of that integrity.”

Ambrose told the AJC “When elections are flawed or biased against us or engineered against us, we lose that aspect that makes us true Americans…Election integrity is truly a bipartisan issue.”

Since there was no republican contender, the winner of the next election will be appointed to the school board. The election is set for November 5th.

Have a news tip or see an error that needs correction? Let us know. Please include the article’s headline in your message.

To stay up to date on all the latest news as it develops, follow WALB on Facebook and X (Twitter). For more South Georgia news, download the WALB News app from the Apple Store or Google Play.

Copyright 2024 WALB. All rights reserved.