Democrats living outside the Chapel Hill-Carrboro area have another decision to make Tuesday in a county commissioner race.

Leo Allison of Efland faces Steve Yuhasz of Hillsborough in a runoff election for county commissioner in District 2.

With no Republicans having filed for the seat, the runoff will decide who gets the spot on the newly expanded board.

In May, Yuhasz had the most votes with 37 percent, followed by Allison with 28 percent. Yuhasz needed 40 percent to win.

Yuhasz is a land surveyor and attorney. He’s been endorsed by former county Commissioners Ben Lloyd, Norman Walker and John Hartwell.

Allison is retired from IBM and is a former chairman of Legal Aid of North Carolina. He’s been endorsed by current Commissioners Moses Carey and Mike Nelson, as well as Luther Brooks and Tommy McNeill, the other two candidates who ran from District 2 in May.

Both Yuhasz and Allison say they want to reduce reliance on the property tax by encouraging economic development.

Yuhasz criticized Allison for requesting a runoff vote, saying it would be expensive for the county to hold another election in a lean budget year.

But the county has to hold a second primary anyway because of a runoff for the statewide Commissioner of Labor seat between John C. Brooks and Mary Fant Donnan.

The second election will likely cost around $75,000, said Election Director Tracy Reams.

Early voting for the second primary started June 5. So far 366 people have voted, Reams said.

This is the first year that Orange County commissioner seats are being decided on a district basis. In the primaries, voters choose only from the at-large candidates and candidates from their districts. In the general election, voters get to cast ballots in all the commissioner races.

RUNOFF

All 44 polling stations in Orange County will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday for the state Commissioner of Labor runoff.

Only residents in the county’s District 2 (outside the Chapel Hill-Carrboro area) may vote in the runoff for Orange County Board of Commissioners.

To see results on election night, go to the Board of Elections Web site at www.co.orange.nc.us/elect/index.asp.