What are you suggesting happened?

I'm suggesting that what happened with this election may have happened in the past.

When he approached Stokes for information about running for mayor, Stokes allegedly gave Braxton "wrong information about how to qualify" for the election, and did not provide public notice to residents about the election.

just weeks after his election, Stokes and his council members Gary Broussard, Jesse Donald Leverett, Voncille Brown Thomas and Willie Richard Tucker allegedly "met in secret to adopt a 'special' election ordinance." Notice of the meeting was not published, and the group set a special election for Oct. 6, 2020.

No notice of that election was ever published, according to the lawsuit. Because the election was not publicized, only Stokes and his council members qualified.

you wrote:

It sounds like everyone has just been completely apathetic to who's running the town, including the 85% black majority.

Does it? It actually sounds like a white minority council bends over backwards to keep themselves in power by ignoring opposition and holding private special elections.

What I mean by "regular" is the kind of election where people go out to vote for one of two or more candidates. Someone winning by default doesn't say much about what the people want, except that they, once again, don't seem to really care.

Don't confuse oppression with apathy.

Stokes and his council allegedly changed the locks for a third time, and according to the lawsuit, Braxton and his council have not had "uninterrupted access" to the building since April 2021. This meant that in November 2022, he could not help set up voting machines for Newbern's most recent election.

They will not let them hold elections. Read the article before you "innocently assume" these people "don't seem to really care".