CullmanTimes.com - Cullman, Alabama

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July 22, 2006

One vote can make a difference

The phrase one vote can make a difference may seem like an over-used cliche to get an apathetic voter to a polling place, but there are times when it turns out to be true.

While there were clear winners in political races for state offices and Cullman County offices, that is not the case in two neighboring counties.

When all of Tuesday night’s runoff ballots were counted, the Republican race for the District 2 seat on the Morgan County Commission between incumbent Richard Lyons and Ken Livingston ended up tied. In Marshall County, Russell Kilpatrick led Marsha Keller by 13 votes in the Democratic circuit clerk’s race.

Morgan County officials are hoping a handful of provisional ballots will point to a clear winner in the commission race. If not, the county’s Republican Party chairman could determine the winner, not exactly the way a contest should be settled.

Marshall County’s Democratic circuit clerk’s race will not be certified until the absentee ballots cast by military serving oversees will be counted. Hopefully, there will be a clear winner there, too.

There have been ties in races before. A decade ago, a Limestone County school board race ended up tied. A flip of a coin by the county sheriff determined who filled the seat for the next four years.

A decade earlier, the outcome of the mayoral race came down to a single vote.

It is entirely possible that an equally close vote could happen here in Cullman County in November. The winning vote totals in the Republican and Democratic races for probate judge this past Tuesday, for example, were within 200 votes of each, hinting at a close contest in the fall.

Several very important races will be on the ballot here in the general election. There is always a chance one of them could come down to a single vote.

Don’t stay home on election day and then wonder if your vote could have made a difference.

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