ATLANTA — Georgia goes to the polls tomorrow for several elections, but the race for Atlanta mayor is the most high-profile.
Fourteen candidates are vying to replace Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who had announced in May that she was not running for reelection.
The election is happening amid a spike in violent crime, as well as controversy over an effort by the residents of Buckhead to break off from the capital and create their own city.
The five leading candidates for mayor include Atlanta City Council President Felicia Moore, former Mayor Kasim Reed, councilmembers Antonio Brown and Andre Dickens and attorney Sharon Gay.
Other candidates include Roosevelt Searles III, Kirsten Dunn, Kenny Hill, Walter Reeves, Mark Hammad, Richard Wright, Nolan English, Rebecca King and Glenn Wrightson.
RELATED LINKS:
- Atlanta Mayoral Race: What to know, where to vote, what to bring on Election Day in Georgia
- What you need to bring with you to vote in Georgia
- How Do I Vote by Absentee Ballot in Georgia?
The latest poll by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution shows the race for Atlanta mayor is a tossup, with Reed and Moore in a statistical dead heat and nearly 41% of likely voters still undecided.
On Oct. 10, WSB-TV held its own debate with the top five candidates running for mayor. The debate focused mainly on the biggest issue facing the candidates: crime and public safety.
The runoff election day for the races will occur Tuesday, Nov. 30. A runoff will occur if none of the candidates get more than 50% of the vote.
Early voting break-down
More than 30,000 people have voted early, according to Georgiavotes.com. Here’s how the early votes break down:
- 28,000 cast votes early, in person
- 5,000 people requested mail-in ballots and 2,300 sent those back in to vote.
Other elections on Tuesday
The Atlanta mayoral race isn’t the only race on the ballot on Tuesday.
The Atlanta City Council is holding elections for new president. Take a look at the candidates here.
There’s also an election for Georgia House of Representatives District 165, which has been left vacant.
There’s two local ballot measures for Fulton County, both related to taxes.
Voting in Georgia’s new election law
Under Georgia’s new voting law, voters will need to submit a driver’s license number, state ID number or other documentation when both requesting and returning absentee ballots.
Georgia’s voting law permits drop boxes if they’re located inside early voting locations, available only during in-person voting hours, and shut down when early voting ends the Friday before an election.
[READ: All 98 pages of Senate Bill 202 on Georgia General Assembly website]
The new law bans distributing food and drinks to voters within 150 feet of the outer edge of a polling place or within 25 feet of any voter standing in line.
Poll workers can still install self-service water receptacles for voters waiting in line. Handing out water is a misdemeanor, amounting up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
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