Unofficial results from the Nov. 3 special election for Denton City Council, Place 1 show that a runoff election will need to take place to elect a new member to the dais.
Candidate Sunny Busby will advance to the runoff election and have her name on the ballot, though her opponent is currently undecided.
What happened?
Busby led the field of four candidates by earning 3,188 votes or 42.72%. Kris Cox and Michael Herron both earned 1,548 votes, or 20.75%, and Ward Franz secured 1,178 votes, or 15.79%.
For a winner to be determined, a candidate must earn more than 50% of the votes. If that does not occur, the top-two candidates with the most votes advance to a runoff. Since Herron and Cox are currently tied, the second runoff candidate has not been determined.
According to a city of Denton social media post, outstanding ballots by mail and provisional ballots have not been counted yet by the Denton County Elections Administration. This vote count could serve as the tiebreaker to determine the second candidate for the runoff election.
If Herron and Cox are still tied after those ballots are tallied, the Texas Election Code states there must be an automatic recount. In the event there is still a tie, Herron and Cox will draw lots to determine who advances to the runoff, according to the city’s post.
A special election was called after former District 1 council member Jordan Villarreal announced he was stepping down July 30, less than three months after winning the seat in May. He ran for the position after Vicki Byrd vacated the seat to run for a trustee seat with Denton ISD.
The District 1 seat term runs through May 2027 and will be on the ballot again during that election, according to the city’s website.
What’s next?
Results from the Nov. 3 election will be canvassed at the Nov. 17 City Council meeting. If they are certified, council members are expected to formally call for the runoff election, which would take place Dec. 12.
The deadline to register to vote in the runoff is Nov. 12, and the early voting period will be between Nov. 30 and Dec. 8.
