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Deckerville and Lexington elected village officials at the Sept. 11 election, replacing one trustee in each community and selecting a new council president in Lexington.

Neither of the Deckerville candidates were present for Friday's drawing to determine the winner. Two deputy clerks - Jody Morris representing incumbent Deckerville Trustee Laurie Turnbull and Connie Bainbridge representing challenger Deborah Ruggles, stood in for the candidates. Bainbridge won the coin toss and drew first, picking the slip marked "not elected." Morris drew second, getting the "elected" slip, which sealed the victory for Turnbull.

Turnbull and Ruggles each received 55 votes in the election.

The tie vote wasn't the only unusual item in last week's Deckerville election. Election workers forgot one step in the procedures required when someone who has failed to register comes in to vote Ð a mistake that could have affected the tie-vote.

County Clerk Linda Kozfkay said she received a call about the mistake election night.

"You must be registered (to vote) 30 days before the election and one voter whose name was not on the list was processed," Kozfkay stated.

She said the woman was registered to vote in the township but had not registered under her new address in the village of Deckerville.

"They knew she was not on the list. They made her fill out a registration application and present a billing with the village address...They should have challenged the ballot and marked it before removing the number and sealing it...(So) if she was not eligible they can pull it out," Kozfkay explained.

"It happens quite a bit, but a tie could affect the outcome because there is no way you can retrieve the ballot," she said.

"I let both candidates (Ruggles and Turnbull) know what occurred, it was their right to know...They have six days to petition for a recount. The candidate has the right to petition the circuit court if they think they were Ôharmed' in any way by irregularities in the process. I do not think that will happen from what they say," she explained.

"Our purpose is not to turn voters away, but to make sure they are eligible," she emphasized.

The rest of the votes are as follows:

Former trustee William Smith finished first with 68 votes, incumbent Ronald Ridley came in second with 65 votes. Paula Vannest received 46 votes. Brad Reid, who announced he was dropping out of the race too late to remove his name from the ballot, got 11 votes.

President Don Murdock received 97 votes, Clerk Audrey Stoliker 105 and Treasurer Debbie Salowitz 103. Candidates for the four year library board term included Karen Fritz, who collected 95 votes, Alyson Hazelton, 90, and Twila Murdock with 91 votes. Linda McConnachie received 106 votes and Kristi McGregor 93 to be elected to the two-year term. The officers and library board members had no competition.

Lexington

The village has a new council president and two new trustees.

Local businessman Dan Maliniak is the new president and Peter Muoio has replaced Tom Constantineau on the Board of Trustees.

President Pro-Tem Maliniak ran unopposed, garnering 85 votes. He replaces Elva Mills. Mills, who served on the council for six years - two as president - chose not to run again for that position, running instead for a four-year council seat. She won the position with 68 votes.

"It was never my intention to be mayor. I was appointed after the last mayor resigned," she said. "I'm a trustee and pleased with the position."

Others elected to the three four-year terms were incumbents David McAllister (77 votes) and newcomer Peter Muoio (91 votes). Bill Oldford, who faced no competion, received 77 votes for the partial trustee term.

Trustee Tom Constantineau was voted out, after receiving 58 votes.

McAllister was appointed to the council four months ago to replace trustee James Gresock, who resigned.

Muoio, a retired health care manager, also is a member of the Downtown Development Association and serves as the village representative for the cable authority. He also serves on the village environmental committee.

Deckerville and Lexington were the only local communities to hold their elections in September. The other governments chose to hold their elections in November in order to share election expense with the county and state. Due to recent state election reforms, under most circumstances elections are supposed to be held only four times per year. Villages and cities were allowed to decide whether to share the main November ballot.