County officials have certified the final results for two Salem City Council races that have remained too close to call since election night on May 19.

In one race, Marion County officials have declared Betsy Vega winner in Ward 6, representing northeast Salem, against incumbent Mai Vang.

That came despite unresolved allegations that Vega was not qualified because she did not continuously live in the ward she seeks to represent.

The Ward 8 race for West Salem, between incumbent Micki Varney and challenger Chris Cummings, will have its May ballots hand-counted to be verified ahead of a likely runoff in November.

In Salem city council and mayoral elections, the winner of the May primary is the sole candidate to appear on the November ballot. 

City election officials are reviewing the allegations about Vega’s residency, which come from Vang’s campaign manager, said city spokesman Rob Layne. 

He said the city will make its decision regarding Vega’s candidate qualification after June 22, after a review by the City Recorder.

Layne said if Vega is found to be ineligible in the May election, she would be disqualified. Vang would have to file and run again in the November general election in order to win. 

Vang would have to run again if Vega is disqualified 

Marion County election officials have declared Vega the winner in the race for Ward 6, certifying the election results released earlier this month. 

Marion County Clerk Bill Burgess told Salem Reporter the final vote count in that race was Vang with 1,403 votes, and Vega with 1,447 votes. It was close enough to nearly require a hand recount. 

Despite Vega’s win, there are still lingering allegations made by Vang’s campaign manager, Paige Barton, who has sought to establish that Vega was not qualified to run for the position. 

After the May 19 election, Barton quickly circulated allegations to elections officials she said show Vega used an old address when she filed to run for office, and then relied on an expired voter registration when filing a signature petition to qualify as a candidate. 

Salem officials said earlier this month that they would take up the allegations after results were formally declared. 

Now that the election results have been certified, City Recorder Amy Johnson must issue a certificate of nomination to the qualifying candidate and authorize that candidate to appear on the November ballot, Layne said. 

“The City Recorder will be reviewing information concerning Betsy Vega’s candidate qualifications and will make a determination after June 22, 2026,” Layne said. 

Layne said that if Vega is determined to be eligible to get the nomination, she will be declared the nominee for the Ward 6 council seat. Her name would be the only one to appear on the November ballot. 

Should Vega be found ineligible to receive the nomination, Layne said Johnson will not issue the nomination certificate. 

If that happens, Vega would not be able to run in the November election, Layne said.

In that case, he said, Vang would not automatically win the election, but she would have to file to run again in the November election. 

Any other Ward 6 resident who has continuously resided in the ward since Nov. 3, 2025 would also be able to file and run against Vang, Layne said. 

West Salem race likely to head to November runoff

On the Polk County side, in West Salem, officials will recount ballots cast in the Ward 8 council race between incumbent Micki Varney and challenger Chris Cummings, due to a razor thin margin. 

Varney remained ahead in that race by just 5 votes, which triggered the hand count. That is scheduled for June 25 at 9 a.m. in the main conference room at the Polk County courthouse in Dallas, Polk County Clerk Kim Williams told Salem Reporter. 

“Basically we are going to print out the results from the tabulator, and then we will pull out those batches and have our boards count that, and it should match what the tabulator is showing,” Williams said. “The job in a nutshell is just making sure that that hand count is the same as the tabulator, and if it is not, then we are going to look into why.” 

Williams said the final vote count in the election was Varney with 3,514 votes and Cummings with 3,509 votes. 

Should the hand count show neither candidate earned more than half the total votes cast, then the two candidates will go on the November general election ballot, Layne told Salem Reporter. 

The candidate with the most votes in the general election wins, he said.  

Layne said the last time a city council race advanced to a November runoff was in the 2022 race between Councilor Deanna Gwyn and Dynee Medlock.

With a runoff likely, the Ward 8 candidates are preparing to keep campaigning.

In the coming months, Varney said she wants to more effectively communicate her message and priorities with the public. She also said she hopes to do a better job contrasting herself with her opponent. 

“We should be talking about the Detroit drawdown, and we should be talking about traffic congestion and my plans for the north end of Wallace Marine Park,” Varney said. “These are some of the key issues I know that impact all of us here in West Salem.”

She said her opponent’s message was more so about attacking her and calling for more police and arresting people living on the streets, but without a plan for funding such programs. 

“It is easier to get people’s attention through fear and causing doubt … it’s a different approach, but it is still very effective,” Varney said. “I prefer to have dialogue rather than attack someone. To me, when you attack someone, you are deflecting away from being able to talk about yourself and what you can do.” 

Cummings told Salem Reporter in an email that his campaign has taken a breather for the time being, but that going into the general election his campaign will focus on the importance of voting for local candidates. He said he will also focus on key differences between him and his opponent, and his vision for the city. 

“The narrow margin tells me that a group of voters want change from the current status quo,” Cummings said.

Contact reporter Joe Siess: [email protected]. 

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