Answers as to who will fill the three City Council seats in November had to wait another day as the number of ballots remained in question Wednesday afternoon.

Incumbents David McAtlin and Margaret Nyberg continued to hold the top two positions with 4,196 (or 25 percent) and 3,751 votes (or about 23 percent) respectively with all 20 city precincts reporting. To secure a seat on the council before the general election, candidates needed more than 50 percent of the ballots cast. While officials expected all ballots to have been counted Wednesday, City Clerk Carla Simendich said it was unlikely they would be finished before Thursday.

“It’s possible David (McAtlin) and Margaret (Nyberg) are already in but we can’t know that until we know how many ballots were cast,” Simendich said Wednesday. “It’s undetermined at this point.”

Simendich added that city officials are working with Arizona Secretary of State representatives for final ballot determinations.

“I don’t expect to hear anything else for a couple of days on new numbers,” Simendich said. “We’re going to have to wait until then to know.”

If both McAtlin and Nyberg earned more than 50 percent of the ballots, Sonny Borrelli (3,354 votes or 20 percent) and Shawna Thornton (3,006 votes or 18 percent) would vie for the third council position in November. If only McAtlin earned more than 50 percent of the ballots, the top four vote getters would move on. But if none of the candidates earned enough ballots, all five candidates including LaJuana Gillette (2,171 votes or 13 percent) would move on to the general election and only write-in Dairo Mark Veit would be eliminated.

Mayor Mark Nexsen, who is running unopposed, received 5,489 votes according to reports Wednesday. City Clerk Simendich said while it was impossible to know the exact number of ballots cast, Nexsen is all but a certainty to continue as mayor.

You can contact the reporter at nbruttell@havasunews.com