Wrong ballots issued in Fair Grove leave write-in candidate's win uncertain

Some people voting in Fair Grove on Tuesday received the wrong ballots. With a tight race between a long-time alderman and a write-in candidate, the mix-up is bringing uncertainty to the Fair Grove Board of Aldermen race.

Greene County Clerk Shane Schoeller said after city ward boundaries were adjusted in 2021 as a result of the 2020 census, some streets were not placed in the correct ward. While this had also affected last year's election, those candidates ran unopposed so the mistake, which was not caught, would not have changed the outcome.

The two wards affected in Fair Grove were Ward Three and Ward Two — the ward where a write-in candidate was campaigning against a Fair Grove native who has served on the board for more than 20 years. Schoeller said that at this time they have identified only five ballots that were issued incorrectly.

According to the unofficial Tuesday election results, the write-in candidate, Kelly Petty, won with 51 votes whereas current Alderman Jeffrey Danderson received 43 votes. The five incorrectly issued ballots could not change the outcome of the election but Schoeller said election staff are conducting a further audit to ensure all cast votes include the correct information. A hand recount will also be conducted Friday at 9:00 a.m at the Elections Center on 1126 N. Boonville Ave. that is open to the public.

Candidates react to ballot mix-up, preliminary results

Schoeller said he does not recall a write-in candidate winning in the recent past, except for times when no one else has filed to run for a seat, meaning that if the current results are certified, Petty could become the first.

But she told the News-Leader Wednesday that she was holding off celebrating until the results are certain. She said her concern is for the community to feel like all were accurately represented.

"There's already been too much division within the city and I definitely want to start working on rebuilding, not adding to that division," Petty said.

Danderson agreed on this point and said he would like to see a special election held to correct the clerk's error, though is doubtful that will take place. He said he would expect "public outrage" as a result of the mix-up, though he thinks that would only come if he had won rather than lost.

"I think in order to actually keep this situation from being worse than it already is, I would think the natural thing to do would be to have a special election against my opponent in the same way," he said.

Spending his whole life in Fair Grove, Danderson has served 25 years on the board on and off through the years. He most recently ran in 2018, which he said was because someone had asked him to. Even if this election ends up a loss, he said he would run again if people wanted him to, though would not run against the other current Ward Two Alderman Dennis Roe.

"I think it's my civic duty to do what I can for the city I live in," Danderson said. "I know how things can go awry, and I love this town, I've always loved it."

Petty registered as a write-in candidate March 1, though she said she thoroughly considered the campaign through most of February after witnessing the turmoil the city experienced following the firing of former Fair Grove SRO Ben McMains. She ran in hopes of bridging the gap between the community and its leaders and healing the mistrust she said had become evident within the community.

Mayoral race results

Two candidates ran for Fair Grove mayor, and current Mayor Steve Short was not one of them. Garnering 67.57% of the vote, Thomas Voorhis, captain at the Brookline Fire Protection District, won the seat. He told the News-Leader Wednesday that he was greatly appreciative of the community support and looks forward to making Fair Grove better for all.

"We need more rooftops, we need more development, growth," Voorhis, who's main platform during the campaign was progress and expansion, said.

Voorhis was up against Alderman Leon Beaty, who via submitted answers at a community-organized town hall meeting last week said he chose to enter the race because Short did not.

Though Voorhis had entered the race prior to the discourse that resulted in the town following the SRO firing, he was endorsed by McMains.

More: Fair Grove community backs former SRO during appeal hearing, but aldermen don't budge

Marta Mieze covers local government at the News-Leader. Have feedback, tips or story ideas? Contact her at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Fair Grove voters received wrong ballots, but write-in still in lead