ATLANTA — Results are starting to come in as polls close in Georgia. There are nearly 400 races across the state, including the next Atlanta mayor.
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1:10 a.m.: Atlanta mayor's race will officially go into a runoff between Mary Norwood and Keisha Lance Bottoms.
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12:23 a.m.: Roswell mayor's race will go into a runoff between Lori Henry and Lee Jenkins
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12:10 a.m.: Keisha Lance Bottoms addresses supporters once again. Mayor Kasim Reed introduces the candidate.
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11:22 p.m.: Latest numbers show Mary Norwood closing in on Keisha Lance Bottoms. Norwood currently at 21% of the vote with Lance Bottoms with 28% of the vote. Currently there is 19% of the vote counted.
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10:52 p.m.: With 100% of the vote in, Dorothy Dean wins Morrow City Council seat.
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10:40 p.m.: Atlanta mayoral candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms speaks to supporters.
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10:30 p.m.: With 2% reporting in the Atlanta mayor's race: Lance-Bottoms leads with Norwood second, Mitchell third and Fort fourth.
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10:16 p.m.: Cherokee, Floyd counties approve SPLOST, Coweta County approves 1% SPLOST, Fayette and Floyd counties approves E-SPLOST.
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10:10 p.m.: DeKalb County approves SPLOST
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10:05 p.m.: Mayor Kasim Reed has arrived at the headquarters for the Keisha Lance Bottoms campaign.
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9:58 p.m.: Cherokee County votes incumbent Bill Grant for Canton City Council Ward 2.
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9:40 p.m.: Atlanta mayoral candidate Mary Norwood spoke to supporters saying she was very hopeful and excited about the election results.
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9:28 p.m.: In race for Mayor of Cumming, 46-year incumbent unseated by newcomer.
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8:49 p.m.: SPLOST passes in Barrow County.
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8:31 p.m.: Ollie Clemons Jr. wins the Cobb County Austell Council At Large Post 1.
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8:21 p.m.: Rory Wojcik wins Carrollton City Council Ward 2.
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8:08 p.m.: Vince Evans has received 75 percent of the vote for Conyers mayor.
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8:05 p.m.: Fayette County votes yes for E-SPLOST.
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8 p.m.: All polls in Georgia are now closed.
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7:27 p.m.: Sparkle Adams won Georgia House District 60 with 81 percent of the vote.
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7 p.m.: Polls close in some parts of Georgia.
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Polls has closed for the mayor's office and city council seats in play in Atlanta and a handful of vacancies around the state in the Georgia Legislature.
Nearly a dozen candidates were on the ballot Tuesday, competing to succeed term-limited Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed.
There's also no shortage of contenders in nine special elections for state House and Senate seats around Georgia that became open after incumbent lawmakers decided not to finish their terms. A total of 34 candidates signed up for those races.
We have Channel 2 Action News reporters fanned across the state at major campaign headquarters to bring you live coverage.
The Atlanta mayoral election is non-partisan, and special elections to fill legislative vacancies skip the party primaries that would otherwise narrow the fields.
Polls opened at 7 a.m. Tuesday and closed either at 7 p.m. or 8 p.m., depending on location. .
The crowded ballots mean it's likely some races Tuesday won't have an outright winner who gets more than 50 percent of the vote. Those races would require runoff elections Dec. 5.
Secretary of state's office spokeswoman Candice Broce said no major problems had been reported Tuesday morning.
Voters say 'so far, so good'
Channel 2 Action News was there Tuesday morning when the candidates vying to become Atlanta’s next mayor hit the voting booths.
That race is just one of nearly 400 impacting everything from taxes to transportation that voters across the metro area will decide on.
Channel 2's Aaron Diamant was outside one polling place in southwest Atlanta where there were no big issues being reported by voters.
Voters are casting big ballots for Atlanta Mayor, Atlanta City Council President, Fulton County commission chair and also some state house and senate seats.
The issue of election integrity has made headlines in recent months, including Georgia’s aging voting machines.
But the Fulton County’s elections director told Diamant that his confidence remains high.
“I can say the same thing I say every time, which is that would it be nice to have a new more modern voting system, yet, however the one that we have operates good,” said Fulton County Elections Director Richard Barron. “We have less than one percent of the machines that go into repair every election. They’re maintained well.”
Barron said he also doesn’t put a lot of stock in concerns of the voting machines vulnerability to hacking, saying it’s a closed system, not connected to the internet.
Plus, he said the election system is separate from the state’s voter registration system, which has come under fire from critics in recent lawsuits.
Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp said the system is secure.
“What I would tell voters is, look, our system is secure. I’m completely confident in that,” Kemp said. “We go through just countless steps training, working with county elections officials on all fronts, and that’s the voting system, the voter registration system, our election night reporting.”
The secretary of state’s office also said it has a small army of investigators ready to run down any complains of polling place problems or electioneering issues.
Cox Media Group
