Runoff elections always hold the added uncertainty of turnout; whether a secondary showdown on its own will draw enough attention for candidates to lure their supporters to the polls.

Collierville voters to decide 2 races in Dec. 8 runoffs

Collierville will have those questions answered Tuesday, Dec. 8 when the town holds runoff elections for two alderman seats on its Board of Mayor and Aldermen. Town election laws require a runoff if no candidate for a seat on the Board of Mayor and Aldermen receives at least 50% of the vote in the municipal election. 

There are no runoffs for school board offices.

Incumbent alderman John Worley faces challenger Harold Booker for Position 3. Worley received nearly 45.2 % of the vote in the Nov. 3 general election, 636 more votes than Booker.

Meanwhile, in Position 4, Missy Marshall and William Boone were the top two finishers among six candidates for the remaining two years of Alderman Tom Allen’s term. Allen died over the summer.

Marshall received about 31.5% of the votes cast earning her 1,062 more votes than Boone, the second-place finisher.

Shelby County Election Commission reported 3,883 residents voted early at Collierville Church of Christ, but there are more than 38,000 registered voters in Collierville, according to Suzanne Thompson, a spokeswoman for the Election Commission.

With the presidential showdown between incumbent Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden drawing much of the attention five weeks ago, not all of Collierville voters cast ballots for local races during the Nov. 3 election. The mayor’s race — where incumbent Stan Joyner ran unopposed — received 24,866 ballots, the most of any Collierville municipal race on that date, according to certified totals. 

“The turnout for a runoff is truly unpredictable,” Linda Phillips, Shelby County Election Commission administrator of elections, said. “It’s anybody’s guess, but we are prepared to vote 10,000 (Tuesday).”

Financial disclosures shed light on campaign efforts in Collierville

Turnout for a runoff tends to be significantly lower than a general election. Collierville’s last runoff in 2003 drew 12.1% of the town’s registered voters, according to data on the Shelby County Election Commission website. In Collierville’s 1995 runoff, 26.7% of registered voters returned for the second vote.

The past haunts Collierville alderman candidate

While the races are at-large, meaning all Collierville residents are eligible to vote for both offices, there is some aligning of candidates in the race — Booker and Boone on one side, Worley and Marshall on the other.

Collierville Alderman Tom Allen dies at age 84

Polls are open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. Tuesday. Most residents may vote at their assigned precinct from Nov. 3. However, two locations changed. Those who voted at Houston Middle School will instead vote at Covenant Baptist (3170 S Houston Levee Road in Collierville). Voters who usually vote at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church should vote at Southwind Elementary School (8155 Meadow Vale in Memphis).