Certified Election Results Report 24% Voter Turnout

Nov. 11, 2025 – Barely one in four registered voters cast ballots in Chatham County’s 2025 general election, when the ballot included two major tax questions, representation on the state body that regulates utility rates, and competitive races in several municipalities.

According to official results certified by the Chatham County Board of Elections on Monday, just about 24.3 percent of the county’s 208,499 registered voters participated in the Nov. 4 election. The majority came on election day, when more than 33,000 (16.2 %) of voters turned out, compared to about 16,000 (7.65%) who voted early and fewer than 1,000 by mail.

Those voters who did turn out approved both the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) and a new school property tax exemption. SPLOST passed with 61% support, while the school tax break was approved by almost 79% of voters.

In addition, Democratic challengers Alicia Johnson and Peter Hubbard each handily defeated incumbent Republican Public Service Commissioners Tim Echols and Fitz Johnson, winning roughly two-thirds of the county’s votes in their respective PSC races.

Local contests drew modest engagement across the smaller municipalities. In Port Wentworth, where voters elected Tracy Saunders over incumbent Gary Norton as mayor, turnout reached about 21%. Bloomingdale and Garden City saw participation of about 20% and 23%, while Thunderbolt had the strongest showing at almost 35%.

Two municipal races were noncompetitive with Bloomingdale Mayor Dennis Baxter and Garden City District 1 candidate Michael Bruner running unopposed.

One Garden City Council race was particularly close, with District 5 candidate Christopher Figiel winning by just five votes (180 total) over incumbent Kimberly Tice.

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