Payne wins District 2 election commissioner runoff

Less than 1,000 voters in Madison County decided the Tuesday runoff election for District 2 Election Commissioner.

Republican Lauren Seyler Payne beat independent Vicky Slater, a former Democrat candidate for governor, in the runoff held on Tuesday, Nov. 24, with 628 votes to Slater’s 335 votes. 

“Madison! Oh Madison! I have been a 39110 girl my whole life,” Payne said on Facebook after the ballots were tallied. “I have never been more proud of that than I am today. Thank you! My heart is full! I am humbled. I am beyond words. Thank you for your faith in me. Thank you for voting. Thank you for realizing the importance and intricacies of this role. I promise to serve you well. I promise to serve each of you equally, whether you vote like me or not.” 

Circuit Clerk Anita Wray’s office reported one write-in vote was submitted and one blank ballot was cast of 965 total ballots cast. Wray said that the election covered eight precincts with a total of 25,090 registered voters. The final count came out to 3.85 percent voter turnout.

Totals immediately after the Nov. 3 general election showed Payne in the lead with the other Republican candidate, Teresa Sanders Speaks, in second. Slater would close the gap after all paper votes were counted to finish in second place.

Final totals from the general election had Payne with 46.84 percent of the vote, followed by Slater with 27.22 percent. Speaks would have a final total of 25.65 percent of the votes cast. Wray’s office recorded a total of 42 write-in votes taking 0.29 percent of the vote share.

The Nov. 3 election saw record voter turnout in the county at 74.99 percent of registered voters participating and a total of 56,777 ballots cast. Final results of the general election reported a total of 14,381 votes cast in the District 2 Election Commissioner race alone.

Runoff election results can be found here: https://tools.madison-co.net/images/election_results/election_results.pdf