Voters cast their ballots Tuesday at William R. Talley Recreation Center in Frederick.

Republican Aldermen C. Paul Smith and Alan E. Imhoff and Democrat Donna Kuzemchak all fell short of their challengers at the polls Tuesday. Smith and Imhoff had served one term, Kuzemchak three.

Democrat Karen Lewis Young was the top vote-getter, followed by Michael C. O'Connor, Shelley M. Aloi, the only Republican in the final five, Carol Krimm and Kelly Russell. Absentee ballots could change the final order.

Winners said they didn't know why voters dropped the three incumbents, but speculated it could have been for reasons ranging from a controversial employee buyout plan during the last term to other candidates campaigning harder.

"It was a very qualified group of candidates," O'Connor said. "The voters had a really difficult choice. There was no way they were going to make a bad decision, from my perspective."

Smith, the incumbent who came closest to being re-elected, said he recognized after the primary he would have a tough time as a Republican.

About 48 percent of Frederick 's 30,655 registered voters are Democrats, about 32 percent are Republican and about 20 percent are unaffiliated or affiliated with another party. About 22.5 percent of the city's voters turned out.

Falling just over 100 votes short and in sixth place, Smith said he would wait to see what the official results are. The unofficial results do not include absentee ballots. The city has sent out 451 absentee ballots; as of Tuesday, 380 had been sent back. Others may be received later in the week, as long as they were postmarked by Tuesday.

On Tuesday night, he was disappointed.

"I have enjoyed this. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve the city," he said.

Having a record can harm incumbents, he pointed out.

"I have spoken up on a number of issues, and spoken up effectively on some of them," he said. "Every time you speak up on an issue, you win some friends and you make some enemies, so to speak."

Imhoff attributed part of Tuesday's results to lower turnout rates than the last election.

He said it was "a little unusual" for all the incumbents to lose.

Kuzemchak could not be reached for comment.

Outgoing Mayor Jeff Holtzinger said he had developed a close relationship with the current Board of Aldermen and was surprised at the vote.

"I thought people were pretty well satisfied. ... That much of a changeover surprises me," Holtzinger said.

Even after the absentee ballots are counted, Young will likely remain top vote-getter. She attributed her win to an arduous door-to-door effort.

"I worked as hard as I possibly could and went door-to-door every day for 5 1/2 months," she said.

Young and several other winning aldermen said their first order of business will be to address the city's budget, finding ways to deal with state cuts, and working to contain taxes. The economy and state cuts may cause a multimillion-dollar shortfall in the next city budget.

She said she was disappointed mayoral candidate Jason Judd didn't win, not because he was a Democrat but because she thought he showed exemplary thinking on those issues.

"Whatever little disappointments any of us have this evening, we will be over them tomorrow and we will be unified doing what's best for the city," Young said Tuesday night.