Atlanta Mayor's Race Decided by Just 832 Votes

A recount is likely
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Dec 11, 2017 6:42 PM CST
Atlanta Mayoral Race Is Official, but a Recount Is Likely
Atlanta mayoral candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms declares victory during an election-night watch party Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2017, in Atlanta. Atlanta's two-person mayoral runoff election is too close to call. Bottoms leads Mary Norwood by a margin of less than 1 percent, which is the threshold where the...   (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

The vote tallies for the runoff election in the Atlanta mayoral race are official, but with a razor-thin margin remaining, the trailing candidate, Mary Norwood, said Monday that she plans to ask for a recount. Election officials in Fulton and DeKalb counties, which both include parts of Atlanta, certified their votes, which still have Keisha Lance Bottoms winning the race. Bottoms' lead grew from 759 votes in unofficial tallies released last week to 832 votes in the certified results, the AP reports. That still amounts to less than 1 percent of the votes. The candidates have 48 hours from the certification in each county to request a recount, and Norwood told reporters she would likely do so Tuesday. Bottoms' campaign did not immediately return an after-hours call seeking comment Monday.

The combined totals from the two counties have Bottoms with 46,667 votes, or 50.45%, and Norwood with 45,835 votes, or 49.55%. The total number of votes cast was 92,502. The official Fulton County results show Bottoms with 42,887 votes, or 51.33%, and Norwood with 40,668, or 48.67%. Norwood led in DeKalb County with 5,167 votes, or 57.75%, versus 3,780 votes, or 42.25%, for Bottoms. Election officials in both counties said they could probably have a recount done by the end of the week if Norwood asks for one. Norwood previously ran for mayor in 2009, when she lost to Mayor Kasim Reed by 714 votes. She requested a recount in that race, but it only produced one additional vote for her.

(More Atlanta stories.)

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