The runoff election for Superior Court Judge in the Southwest Georgia Judicial District will be held Tuesday, July 26. Ryan Cleveland and Heather Lanier are running for the office after finishing first and second respectively in the May primary. 

Cleveland defeated Lanier 4089 to 4046 in the primary across all five counties, including a 2696 to 1071 advantage in Decatur County.

The runoff is being held because neither candidate received the necessary threshold of 50-percent of votes needed in the three-person race, which included Mike Bankston.

On Tuesday all nine precincts in Decatur County will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Unlike previous elections where there were multiple ballots to choose from, the non-partisan election for superior court judge will be the only race on the ballot on Tuesday.

Early voting has been open since July 5 and as of Friday at 1 p.m., 694 votes have been cast in person, and 83 mail-in ballots have been accepted in Decatur County.

The six-percent voter turnout has already exceeded the election office’s expectation of five-percent turnout.