UPDATED 8:25 a.m. Nov. 8, 2023, with new percentages
Tiffany Zeigler is Pembroke’s new mayor, while in Richmond Hill, District 3 candidate Van Hunter has edged newcomer Chris Raiford, and Steve Scholar will return to District 4.
Bryan County residents voted 1,752 (72.36%) to 669 (27.63%) to renew a one-cent Special Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) and chose city officials in Richmond Hill and Pembroke. Because of the county question on the ballot, Richmond Hill voters had to go to their county polling place to cast their votes.
Richmond Hill
Council Post 3
Former councilman Van Hunter, who served from 2002 to 2006 and from 2010 to 2014, edged challenger Chris Raiford, 451 (50.73%) to 438 (49.26%).
Council Post 4
Incumbent Steve Scholar beat challenger Rafael Redondo, 626 (70.49%) to 262 (29.5%).
Pembroke
Mayor
Longtime councilmember and mayor pro tem Tiffany Zeigler has won the mayor’s seat in Pembroke, beating former city clerk Sharroll Fanslau for the seat vacated by outgoing Mayor Judy Cooke, 381(78.07%) to 107 (21.92%).
Council At Large
Incumbent councilman and former Public Works director Ernest Hamilton, who has served on the council for 12 years (from 2000 to 2008, 2012 to 2015, and 2020 to 2023), beat challenger Jerry Gallishaw, Sr., 310 (63.13%) to 181 (36.86%).
Council District 1
Incumbent councilman Johnnie Miller, who has served on the council since 1992, ran unopposed and got 78 votes (100%).
Council District 2
Sharon D. Lewis, who ran for mayor in 2019, beat city clerk Arlene Hobbs 64 (54.7%) to 53 (45.29%).
Council District 3
Incumbent councilwoman Diane Moore, who has served on the council since 2009, ran unopposed and got 107 votes (100%).
Council District 4
Former Bryan County commissioner Ed Bacon beat challenger C. Edward Winter, 118 (72.83%) to 44 (27.16%), for the seat vacated by Zeigler.
Richmond Hill Post 4 Councilman Steve Scholar (left) and Post 3 challenger Chris Raiford (right) talk with constituents, Nov. 7, 2023. (Photo: Robin Kemp/The Current) Credit: Robin Kemp/The Current 
Campaign signs outside the Timber Trail Recreational Park polling place, Richmond Hill, GA, Nov. 7, 2023. (Photo: Robin Kemp/The Current GA) 
Voters enter the Timber Trail Recreational Park polling place, Richmond Hill, GA, Nov. 7, 2023. (Photo: Robin Kemp/The Current GA) 
Richmond Hill Post 4 Councilman Steve Scholar (left) and Post 3 challenger Chris Raiford (right) talk politics, Nov. 7, 2023. (Photo: Robin Kemp/The Current) 
Richmond Hill Post 4 Councilman Steve Scholar (left) and Post 3 challenger Chris Raiford (right) talk politics, Nov. 7, 2023. (Photo: Robin Kemp/The Current GA) 
Campaign signs featuring a Bible verse outside the First Baptist Church polling place, Richmond Hill, GA, Nov. 7, 2023. (Photo: Robin Kemp/The Current GA)
Bryan County Polling Places
Precinct 1
Harn Community Center, 91 Lanier St, Pembroke
Precinct 2
Christ Baptist Church, 3580 Wilma Edwards Rd, Ellabell
Precinct 3
Lanier Learning Center, 6024 US Hwy 280 E, Pembroke
Precinct 4
First Baptist Church, 9184 Ford Ave., Richmond Hill
Precinct 5
Richmond Hill Recreation Center, 508 Timber Trail, Richmond Hill
Precinct 6
John Stevens Wetlands Center, 500 Cedar St., Richmond Hill
Precinct 7
New Life Church, 16252 Ga. Hwy. 144, Richmond Hill
Precinct 8
New Beginnings Community Church, 75 Crosswind Dr., Richmond Hill
Precinct 9
DeVaul Henderson Park Gym, 215 Henderson Park Blvd., Richmond Hill
Precinct 10
Daniel Siding Baptist Church, 580 Daniel Siding Loop Rd., Richmond Hill
Advance voting numbers
Leading up to Election Day, 1,094 Bryan County voters cast absentee ballots in person, 28 (of 43) returned absentee ballots by mail, and three cast provisional ballots, for a total of 1,125 early votes cast. No ballots cast were cured or rejected.
On the first day of early voting, 19 people voted on a ballot that incorrectly showed District 3 City Council candidate Chris Raiford as running in District 4. The error was promptly corrected and all 19 people who had voted the defective ballot were contacted to re-vote, according to Richmond Hill City Clerk Dawnne Greene. The city and county also published a joint notice about the error on October 23. “The error has been corrected in accordance with the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office,” Greene told The Current. “All ballots going forward are correct.”
General information
If you need more information or help with the voting process on Election Day, you can contact these resources:
To report “questionable election-related activity,” you can call the Georgia Secretary of State’s Voter Fraud Hotline at 877-725-9797. Note that an elections investigator may contact you to ask for more information, and that credible allegations may be forwarded to the State Elections Board or state attorney general’s office. You also can report alleged voter fraud and upload evidence online at https://sos.ga.gov/form/stop-voter-fraud.
For questions about elections in Bryant County, contact the Bryant County Elections and Registration office at (912) 653-3859 or e-mail elections@bryan-county.org.