Crisp County, Ga., magistrate judge primary ends in tie, rare runoff, following recount

Republican voters in Crisp County, Ga., will get a second shot to pick their nominee in the county’s chief magistrate judge race on June 18.

George Holmes and Brandon Rivers faced each other in a primary on May 21. Initial returns showed Holmes leading Rivers by one vote, enough to secure the nomination.

But in Georgia, a losing candidate can request a recount if the final margin is within 0.5 percentage points.

Rivers made that request, which revealed a scanning error. The final tally was a 943-943 tie.

As a result, both candidates will advance to a primary runoff.

Runoffs are common in Georgia: this race is one of 107 slated for June 18. For federal- to county-level offices, state law prohibits candidates from holding office unless they receive a majority vote.

Typically, though, runoffs involve the top-two vote-getters from a field of three or more candidates.

The only way a runoff can happen in a two-person race is if that race ends in a tie since neither candidate secured the majority vote required under the law.

Georgia is one of 20 states where Ballotpedia is providing comprehensive election coverage this year. This is part of our goal to cover races up and down the ballot nationwide by gathering candidate information for all offices, big and small.