Niceville voters reject city clerk change, approve mayoral tie-break rule

NICEVILLE, Fla. — Niceville voters on Tuesday rejected a proposed charter amendment that would have removed the city clerk’s residency requirement while approving a separate measure allowing the mayor to break tie votes when the city council selects a replacement for a vacant seat.

According to the Okaloosa County Supervisor of Elections Office, Niceville’s election results show that 53.82% of voters opposed eliminating the city clerk residency requirement, keeping in place the existing rule that mandates the clerk be a Niceville resident. The measure failed with 416 votes against and 357 in favor.

Conversely, 61.35% of voters supported amending the city charter to permit the mayor to cast a deciding vote in city council appointment deadlocks. The measure passed with 473 votes in favor and 298 against.

Voter turnout for the municipal election was approximately 8%, with 773 ballots cast in the city clerk referendum and 771 in the tie-break vote measure.

Despite minor technical issues, including early test result postings and some ballots being unreadable due to a security feature, election officials reported no major disruptions to the voting process.

With these results, Niceville’s city charter remains unchanged regarding the city clerk’s residency requirement, while the new amendment granting the mayor tie-breaking authority in council vacancies will take effect.