Cherokee Chief Faces Runoff Vote

The Cherokee Nation will hold a runoff election next month after no candidate for chief won a majority.

Incumbent chief Joe Byrd led nine candidates in balloting Saturday with 32%, or 4,140 votes. Challenger Chad Smith received 19%, or 2,535 votes, and Pat Ragsdale placed third with 16%, or 2,162 votes. Byrd and Smith will face each other in a June 24 runoff, when a deputy chief will also be selected.

Electronic voting devices were used for the first time Saturday by the Cherokee Nation, which has 200,000 members and is the second-largest tribe in the United States. Half of its 26,000 registered voters cast ballots.

Smith said Saturday’s outcome was unusual. “It is in the Cherokee tradition to vote for the incumbent. But in other chief races, we didn’t have to go through a runoff. This is a very big victory.”