LYNN HAVEN, Fla. (WMBB) — Bay County Supervisor of Elections Mark Andersen and his staff are preparing for a special election they hadn’t counted on before Tuesday.
“Lynn Haven has an additional issue that’s come up due to the resignation of one of the seat members,” Bay County Supervisor of Elections Mark Andersen said.
On Municipal Super Tuesday, Lynn Haven residents will also be voting in a special election to fill the City Commission’s 4th seat which was vacated by Judy Tinder who resigned to run for mayor.
Along with the mayor, residents will also be electing candidates to fill commission seats 1, 2 and 4.
As candidates are continuing to throw their hats in the ring, some residents are calling for change.
“Think it’s time that we put the right person in the office in where the people can be heard and you and people can be satisfied and been comfortable with the leader they have in that position,” Calvin Griffin of Lynn Haven said.
Andersen said if you want to be heard, you need to vote.
“So, every vote does count whether it’s the first vote cast or the last vote cast, they count exactly the same because it’s secret and the outcome is what the voters do,” Andersen said.
It’s not unheard of for elections to come down to a one-vote difference.
“That has happened actually here in this county with the school board race, that it came down to one vote difference,” Andersen said.
Aware of this, Andersen said he puts a special emphasis on insuring elections cannot be rigged or defrauded in any way.
“Security, security, security. We have a two-system process. They’re independent of each other. Everything in this office takes two people to do,” Andersen said.
The deadline to register to vote in this year’s Municipal Super Tuesday is March 20th. Election day will be April 18.
