No candidates receive a majority lead in House District 12 primary, runoff could hinge on provisional ballots
Published 2:47 am Wednesday, July 16, 2025
Tens of votes could be the deciding factor on whether Republican candidates Cindy Myrex and Clint Hollingsworth will be heading into a runoff election for Alabama House District 12.
Runoff elections between a primary election’s top two candidates are triggered if none of the qualified candidates received a majority of the votes during the initial primary election.
As the final ballots were tallied on Tuesday, July 15, Myrex narrowly missed the 50 percent threshold with 49.81 percent (2,129 votes), followed closely by Hollingsworth with 43.24 percent (43.24 votes).
Trending
Candidates Heather Doyle and Dan McWhorter each received roughly 3.5 percent with 150 votes cast for Doyle and 147 for McWhorter.
However, a low voter turnout and a small number of provisional ballots remaining uncounted puts the potential to avoid a runoff just within Myrex’s reach.
Provisional ballots are used whenever there are questions about any given voter’s eligibility that must be verified before the ballot is counted and are used to ensure a person is not mistakenly excluded from the voting process due to any type of administrative error.
Cullman County Probate Judge Tammy Brown confirmed that roughly 20 provisional ballots remain uncounted as of Tuesday evening.
With a current total of 4,276 ballots counted, this gives Myrex a non-zero chance of edging her way into a majority. However, nearly all of the provisional ballots will need to be certified by the Cullman County Board of Registrars and also cast in Myrex’s favor.
Brown said the Board will begin the process of certifying each of the provisional ballots Wednesday morning, July 16, and have plans to count all that are eligible next Tuesday, July 22, at 12 p.m. at the Cullman County Courthouse.
Trending
If Myrex is unable to secure a majority lead after next week she will face Hollingsworth again on Tuesday, Aug. 12.
Hollingsworth issued this statement Wednesday morning:
“I would like to thank my supporters and everyone that turned out to vote in the District 12 Primary. Over the last few months I’ve heard from a lot of residents about their concerns for the district and it has been great getting to know people across the county. I look forward to upcoming forums and debates with Cindy sharing our beliefs and the issues that face District 12. Cullman County deserves a proven leader with the record and experience of getting things done.”
