Board members discussed House Bill 640, passed in 2025, which the county staff summarized as affecting how the City of Alpharetta determines whether a candidate receives a majority and when a runoff is required. Staff said the measure directs that a person receiving a majority of votes cast shall be elected and that, where no candidate receives a majority, a runoff between the top two candidates is required.

Attorney Brian Jacotow, representing a candidate, argued the board should include write‑in votes in the denominator when determining whether a candidate achieved the majority needed to avoid a runoff. Jacotow said city charter provisions concern whether votes were cast rather than whether they were counted and that eligible voters who cast write‑in votes should be included in the majority calculation.

County staff said they had asked the City of Alpharetta to confirm candidate qualifying and that Alpharetta responded it had no qualified write‑in candidates. Staff emphasized that municipalities perform candidate qualifying and must inform the county of who is a qualified candidate. Several board members cautioned against conducting a legal interpretation of the statute during the public meeting and said they would defer to counsel and to any determinations by the secretary of state or the city.

No formal legal ruling was made at the meeting. Staff said they had copied the secretary of state and would rely on counsel and the city to resolve questions about candidate qualifying and how write‑in votes should be treated for Alpharetta contests.