Karl Riles and Bobby Ryon lead Tuesday’s special election for the Hinesville District 5 city council seat. Riles came in with 133 votes and Ryon, a former city council member, came in second with 123 votes. A runoff for the seat will take place April 16.

Andrew L. Smith Sr. was third in the race with 115 votes. The other three candidates divided up the remaining votes: Michelle Harris had 18, Hannah Williams-Donegan received 14 and Betty Phelps had 4. There are 3,649 registered voters in the district. 

According to Chief Registrar and Elections Supervisor Ella Golden, 272 residents from District 5 early voted during the early voting period from Feb. 25 to March 15. The computation and canvassing of election returns will begin at 10 a.m. Wednesday, March 20. Computation and canvassing is simply the preparation of paperwork to send to the state, Golden said.

The summary of the 272-early vote count was tallied as follows: Riles received 94 votes, Ryon had 78, Smith had 75, Williams-Donegan had 12, Harris had 9 and Phelps had 4.

All results are unofficial until certified by the Board of Voter Registration and Election.