Bowing out of a competition might seem like it’d be infinitely easier than staying the course. But that isn’t necessarily the case for regretful candidates in this year’s municipal elections.
In fact, exiting the race may prove harder than anticipated for two would-be members of Mebane’s city council, who’ve recently put it out that they’re no longer interested in any of the three council seats on November’s ballot.
Rick Thomas, a contender for one of these seats, informed The Alamance News that he had pulled out of the race when he was contacted about an issues questionnaire that The Alamance News had distributed to each candidate.
Since then, fellow office-seeker Blair Helms posted a similar declaration on Facebook, revealing that he, too, is no longer pursing a seat on the council.
Even so, neither of these two candidates has shared his change of heart with the county’s elections office.
In fact, the news that Thomas is no longer running for Mebane’s city council came as a complete surprise to the county’s elections director Dawn Hurdle when she received a call from a reporter about this development.
“We have not heard anything about it,” Hurdle conceded in an interview last Wednesday. “And we’ve already printed the ballots so it’s too late to withdraw.”
Hurdle still hadn’t received a written notification from Thomas when The Alamance News contacted her on Tuesday to inquire about Blair’s apparent withdrawal from the race. The elections director went on to acknowledge that neither of these two candidates had informed her of their intentions.
Hurdle added that, for better or worse, Thomas and Blair already appear on the ballot that residents of Mebane receive when they visit the elections office to cast their votes early. The elections director nevertheless added that there is an exit strategy available for any reluctant candidate who wants to make sure they won’t have to take office even if they find themselves in the winner’s circle when the results have been tallied.
Hurdle stressed that a candidate in this predicament must, first, present the elections office a written notice of withdrawal. Once they’ve dispensed with this requirement, a statutory provision will kick in to ensure they aren’t elevated to public office against their wishes.
Hurdle went on to add that, under the relevant statute, the votes cast for the former candidate “shall be disregarded” in the event that “he receives enough votes for the nomination.”
“The candidate receiving the next highest number of votes,” the statue continues, “below the number necessary for nomination shall be declared nominated.”
