Tim Kyle has been announced as the winner of Kosciusko’s mayoral race after a review of all votes with Kyle getting 691 votes to Marvin Myles Jr. 665.
Following the June 3 election, no clear winner could be declared due to only 31 votes separating the candidates with 68 absentee and affidavit ballots left to be certified.
In the initial reporting of numbers, it appeared Myles Jr. was ahead in votes, however, on the day following the election, the City Clerk’s office announced the certified absentee ballots hadn’t been added into the total. After those were counted, incumbent Tim Kyle took a 31 vote lead.
Wednesday morning, the final absentee ballots were reviewed by the resolution board. There were a total of 9 ballots received, with 8 of them being rejected due to having no applications with the ballot. The one other absentee ballot was determined to have already been counted on election night.
The total numbers are listed below.
Understanding Absentee and Affidavit Ballots
Absentee ballots are submitted by voters who, for various reasons, cannot be present at the polls. In Kosciusko, these ballots are subject to certain guidelines: they must be signed by both the voter and a witness, with signatures placed over the flap of the envelope. Failure to adhere to these requirements can result in rejection by the resolution board.
Affidavit ballots are cast by individuals whose names do not appear on the poll books, often due to address discrepancies, or who did not have a proper Voter ID. These voters are allowed to cast a ballot under the condition that they resolve the issue within five business days following the election.
