Thomasville City Council certifies Aug. 26 election results, names winners in Districts 4 and 5

The Thomasville City Council approved Resolution 2025-16 at a special-called meeting in September to canvass and certify the Aug. 26, 2025 municipal election results, declaring Fred Culpepper elected to Council District 4 and Roy Madison elected to Council District 5 and directing the city clerk to issue certificates of election.

The certification matters because it formally concludes the canvass process and establishes who will hold the two council seats beginning the first Monday in November 2025, city officials said.

Council members present reviewed the vote totals announced by the canvass. The council recorded 115 votes for Fred Culpepper and 43 for Barbara Hudson in District 4; in District 5, Roy Madison received 261 votes and Kirk Vincent received 60. The resolution states Culpepper and Madison received majorities of the votes cast and therefore are declared duly elected for terms beginning on the first Monday in November 2025.

Council officials described several procedural issues that arose during and after the election but said they were resolved before certification. According to the record, five absentee ballots arrived by mail after the deadline the morning after Election Day. City staff contacted Secretary of State Wes Allen and a state attorney by phone; clerks then contacted the voters and four of the five voters returned to cast ballots in person, which were counted in accordance with the procedures described at the meeting. A council member said the city followed state law when determining which ballots could be counted.

Officials also reported a labeling error by the vendor that prepared voting machines at two precincts; staff discovered that the machines for Districts 4 and 5 were swapped when delivered, and they exchanged them within minutes. The record states that a small number of votes (reported as five at one machine and nine at another) were placed into secure lockboxes and later entered into the correct machine after the swap and certification.

A motion to approve Resolution 2025-16 was made by Councilman Roy Waite and seconded by Councilman Charles Allen; the record shows the council voted to certify the results. The clerk will issue certificates of election. "The people have spoken. Loud and clear on those two districts," a council member said during the meeting.

Because this was a special-called meeting to canvass the election, the council did not conduct other business and adjourned after certifying the results.