Wilkes County voters who voted in the July 15 Democratic Primary Election will return to the polls Tuesday, August 5, for a runoff election between Mark Moore and Mike Sisson for the office of Wilkes County Sheriff.

Moore and Sisson, both long-time lawmen, took the most votes in last week's primary election, but neither took more than the required 50 percent needed to avoid a runoff. More than 48 percent of Wilkes County voters voted in the primary.

But not everybody can vote in the runoff. Judge Jim Burton said, "By Georgia law, only those voters who voted Democrat in the recent election, or those who didn't vote at all, may cast ballots in the August 5 runoff. Those who voted Republican in the recent election cannot vote in this Democrat runoff."

All eligible voters may vote at their usual precinct on August 5, or in advance from July 28 to August 1 at the Wilkes County courthouse.

In the Democratic race for the U.S. Senate, DeKalb County Chief Executive Officer Vernon Jones and former state lawmaker Jim Martin were the top voter getters in the five-man race, and will be on the August 5 ballot statewide to decide which man faces Republican Saxby Chambliss in November.