LAKELAND — A hearing has been set for Aug. 16 that could decide the Lanier County School Board District 3 election.

According to attorney Roy Copeland, a judge will decide whether voter Tyler Westlake will be allowed to cast a provisional ballot for the race between John W. Strickland Jr. and incumbent Phillip Connell.

Strickland filed a lawsuit Wednesday, Aug. 1, contesting the results. The lawsuit is against the Lanier County Board of Elections for allegedly failing to properly count Westlake’s vote in the school board runoff race held July 24, according to court documents. 

Both candidates received 170 votes, making Westlake’s vote the deciding factor in who would win.

“We are hoping to prove that the voter was improperly denied their right to execute his vote as he intended,” Copeland said.

He said if a judge decides against allowing Westlake to submit a provisional ballot, he intends to appeal the decision. 

The lawsuit states a member of the board of elections gave Westlake an incorrect ballot during early voting July 3.

Westlake is a resident of school board District 3 in Lanier County but was given a voting ballot for District 4, according to the lawsuit. The election board member “incorrectly believed that Mr. Westlake resided in District 4, and therefore, provided him with the incorrect ballot,” the lawsuit states.

After voting, Westlake told the board member the candidates for the District 3 race were not on his ballot, and the board member did not correct the error and did not provide him with a provisional ballot to fix the mistake, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit demands a temporary restraining order against holding a run-off or special election, which has already been set for Aug. 21. It states Westlake should be given another opportunity to cast a ballot for District 3 and for an independent member of the judiciary to consider the complaint.

Thomas Lynn is a government and education reporter for The Valdosta Daily Times. He can be reached at (229)244-3400 ext. 1256