Losing candidates challenge Atlantic Beach vote

ATLANTIC BEACH, S.C. (AP) — Two candidates who lost last month’s race for Atlantic Beach mayor by a wide margin have sued in Circuit Court, challenging the election.

Mayor Retha Pierce and Councilwoman Windy Price filed their challenge Monday afternoon just minutes before the deadline.

The Town Council was supposed to meet Monday night to swear in Jake Evans as mayor, but that meeting was postponed.

Evans won the election with 53 votes, while Pierce received four votes and Price got one vote. Both Pierce and Price say they didn’t vote in protest because they did not think it was a legal election.

Gov. Nikki Haley called the special election after the results of last November’s elections were invalidated by the town’s election commission.