Richmond County elections board calls special election for Board of Education District 3

The Richmond County Board of Elections voted to issue the call for a special election to fill the unexpired term for Board of Education District 3 after the board's attorney notified elections staff of a vacancy following the death of Walter Eubanks.

Director Travis Doss told the board the school board charter requires the election superintendent to call a special election for an open school‑board seat and presented a draft call that would place the special election on the Nov. 3 general‑election ballot with a potential runoff on Dec. 1. "The school board charter states that if there is a vacancy in office in the school board that the election superintendent calls for a special election," Doss said.

Key dates and mechanics: Doss said qualifying for the special election would take place at the elections office during the same week already scheduled for school‑board qualifying (the week of Aug. 17–21). He said the registration deadline for the ballot was October 5 and that early voting would begin on October 13. Doss noted that a candidate who qualified for the special election and also ran in the general election would not appear on the general ballot as the incumbent even if they won the special because the special and general contests would be stacked on the ballot.

Board action: A board member moved to issue the call for the special election; the motion was seconded and passed on voice vote.

Why it matters: The special election will fill the remainder of the term (ending Dec. 31, 2026). Election mechanics — qualifying windows, stacked ballot placement and the potential necessity to qualify twice for the unexpired term and the full term — were highlighted so candidates and staff can plan accordingly.

Next steps: Staff will finalize the call and proceed with the qualification schedule and ballot preparations required to place the special election on the Nov. 3 ballot.