The Statesboro mayoral runoff election takes place today and will decide whether the first African-American or first female mayor takes office.

The two mayoral candidates in the runoff are Jonathan McCollar and Jan Moore.

McCollar would be the first African-American mayor of Statesboro if he wins in today’s election. Likewise, Moore would hold the title as first female mayor.

“I would be honored and proud to be the first African-American mayor, but I am more focused on being the best and most qualified mayor of Statesboro,” McCollar said.

Moore could not be reached by press time for comment.

Today’s runoff is the result of last month’s elections, ending with McCollar earning 35.5 percent and Moore with 39.8 percent of the vote.

A runoff election occurs when candidates do not win the election by more than 51 percent.

In 1889 Statesboro mayoral elections began with candidates elected at-large annually, according to the city of Statesboro website.

The mayor is presently elected at-large while the five council members are elected by district, according to the website.

All Statesboro elections are nonpartisan, according to the city of Statesboro’s website.

According to the Bulloch county website, voting for the election ends today at 7:00 p.m.