Runoff Turnout Falls Below 25% as Columbus Elects New Mayor, Council Members

Fewer than one in four registered voters in Muscogee County participated in Tuesday's runoff election, which determined Columbus' next mayor and filled two City Council seats, according to unofficial results released by the Muscogee County Elections Office.

A total of 31,767 ballots were cast out of 127,674 registered voters, producing a countywide turnout rate of 24.88%. The results remain unofficial pending certification by the Muscogee County Board of Elections, which is scheduled to meet June 22.

The mayoral runoff, the highest-profile contest on the ballot, drew 31,621 votes. Former City Manager Isaiah Hugley defeated City Council member Joanne Cogle with 16,309 votes, or 51.58%, to Cogle's 15,312 votes, or 48.42%.

The race attracted participation from nearly all voters who cast ballots in the runoff and represented turnout of approximately 24.8% of the county's registered voters.

In the District 9 at-large City Council runoff, which was also decided countywide, voters elected Cathy Cook over incumbent John Anker. Cook received 18,674 votes, or 59.9%, while Anker garnered 12,506 votes, or 40.1%.

That contest drew 31,180 votes, reflecting participation by roughly 24.4% of registered voters.

The District 7 City Council runoff generated 2,106 votes. Rebecca "Becca" Zajac defeated Laketha Ashe by a margin of 1,217 votes to 889 votes, or 57.8% to 42.2%.

Because District 7 encompasses only a portion of Muscogee County, countywide voter registration figures cannot be used to calculate an accurate turnout percentage for that race. District-specific voter registration totals were not immediately available.

As of Friday, Muscogee County election officials had not released demographic or ballot-type breakdowns for the runoff, including turnout by political party, race, age or gender. Similar data were published following the May 19 primary election but are often released days or weeks after vote totals are finalized.

Although Columbus' municipal races are nonpartisan, the runoff ballot also included statewide Democratic and Republican primary runoffs for governor and U.S. Senate. Voters selected either a Democratic ballot, a Republican ballot, or a nonpartisan ballot containing only local races.

The Georgia Secretary of State's Office maintains an online voter turnout dashboard that provides demographic and participation data by county and election. However, updated figures for Tuesday's runoff had not been posted as of Friday.

The Muscogee County Board of Elections is expected to certify the results Monday.