Voting pace slows over the last week

By THOMAS P. WEAVER

Horizon editor

CELINA-Election Day for the 2025 Celina City Election is next Tuesday, June 3, and early voting wraps up this Thursday here at the Celina Fire Department Building, leaving city residents and property owners only a few more days to cast their votes.

After a torrid start, the pace of ballots being cast during the days leading up to the home stretch of the local municipal election slowed over the past week.

As of the close of polls Saturday, a total of 317 votes were in, with 222 early votes coming in person and a total of 95 mail-in absentee votes—which is already more than the absentee total of 77 from 2021.

After nearly 200 were cast over the first four full days of early voting, which amounted to 49 votes per day, the next five full days only produced a total of 121 ballots cast—a near 50% rate drop to 24 votes per day.

With only three more days of early voting remaining due to the Memorial Day holiday Monday, a tick over 70 early and absentee votes could come in if last week’s rate holds true this week.

If that happens, this year’s numbers will easily surpass the last city election cycle’s total vote of 433, when 43.83% of registered voters exercised their civic duty four years ago.

Over 62% of the votes in 2021 came either early or by absentee ballot—which includes those mailed in by city property owners.

Based on that percentage, along with factoring in the last three days of early voting at last week’s pace, a total surpassing 600 votes could be seen this time around, including a number of early and absentee votes nearing 400 and over 200 Election Day ballots being cast.

If those marks are reached, they would represent a turnout of over 65% of the 957 registered city voters in 2025.

Early voting continues here Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Election Day voting, also taking place here at the local fire hall, runs from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. next Tuesday.

For more information about Election Day voting, see the Notice of Polling Place published by Clay County Election Administrator Monica Davis on page 3 of this week’s HORIZON.

Also published on page 5 of this week’s edition is a sample ballot, which shows Celina residents and property owners are voting in a three-person race for mayor and are choosing from eight candidates vying to fill three alderman seats.

In the feature race for mayor, incumbent mayor Luke Collins is being challenged by former two-term mayor Willie Kerr and current vice-mayor and alderman Justin Rich.

Collins and Rich both took office in 2021, while Kerr served eight years as city mayor from 2009-2017.

With Rich entering the mayoral race and Brittany Kerr not running for re-election, Kenny Westmoreland is the only incumbent in the aldermen race.

He is joined by current Clay County commissioner Timmy Boles, former city mayoral candidate Micheal Boles, prior aldermen candidate Dawn Dale, Kenneth Dale, Tracy Mills, Christopher Hayes, and Patty Spears.

For additional information on the city election, contact Davis at 931-243-2536.