Special Election Sees Low Voter Turnout as Chip Jenkins Wins Seat 7 on Laurens County District 55 School Board and Two Seats Go To Runoff

Yesterday, a special election took place to fill Seat 7 on the Laurens County District 55 School Board, which was previously held by Bubba Rawl. The voter turnout for the election was dismally low, registering at just under 14%. However, the Long Branch Precinct showed a slightly higher voter engagement, with an unofficial turnout of just over 20%.

The unofficial results revealed that Chip Jenkins emerged victorious in Seat 7, securing 211 votes, surpassing the combined total of the other two candidates. Shenese Gilmore came in second place with 91 votes, while Jose Parker secured 64 votes, placing third.

With the elections for Seats 1 and 3 on the Laurens County District 55 School Board still up in the air, runoff elections are scheduled for August 15th. Tabatha Keith obtained the highest number of votes for Seat 1, which became vacant due to Todd Varner’s resignation in May, receiving 105 votes. Kelvin L. Byrd secured the second position with 79 votes. Unfortunately, Jerome Parson and James Lang fell short of making the cutoff with 76 and 75 votes, respectively.

For Seat 3, vacated by Neil Patterson’s resignation, Angela Wells emerged as the top candidate with 106 votes in the unofficial county results. Her potential challenger in the August 15th runoff is Heather Elders, who secured 93 votes in the election. Adam Brown and Adam Brock were eliminated from the race, receiving 32 and 29 votes, respectively.

The Laurens County Election Commission will meet Friday morning for a canvas of the election and is expected to release the final, official results.

The runoff election for Seats 1 and 3 is confirmed for August 15th. Early Voting will be available from August 9 to August 11 at the Laurens County Voter Registration’s Office on Bolt Drive.