LINN — A judge has granted a special election in the contested Linn mayoral race, according to Interim Osage County Clerk Brooke Dudenhoeffer.

Dudenhoeffer said Friday that the court approved the request for a new election after the Osage County Clerk’s Office petitioned the court following ballot errors tied to annexation records.

“The judge ruled to grant the special election based on statute 115.600,” Dudenhoeffer said. She added that her attorney was expected to submit a formal order for the judge’s review and signature, possibly as early as Monday morning.

According to Dudenhoeffer, the final order is expected to outline details including the proposed election date and the timeline required to complete the election process.

The special election stems from errors that prevented 40 eligible Linn residents from receiving ballots containing the mayoral race during the April election. 

The April mayoral race was certified with Michael Troesser defeating Dustin Flamm by a 127-101 margin (26 votes).

In a previous statement, Dudenhoeffer described the issue as an administrative error connected to annexation records that had not been fully entered into the voter system before the election.

Questions surrounding the annexed areas were also discussed during an April Linn Board of Aldermen meeting, where city officials said the outcome of the alderman races would not be affected by the disputed ballots. 

Dudenhoeffer also said Friday that the election would involve only the affected voters whose ballots did not include the mayoral contest.

“It’s an election for the 40 voters,” she said.

She added that her office would deny Sunshine Law requests for the names of those voters until after the election is complete.