Atlanta Mayor’s Election- “It Ain’t over Till it’s Over”

And finally, it IS over

Mary Norwood has stated that she will not contest the results of the recent election stating she was ready to move on, “although there were some irregularities with the election”.Norwood had contested the results of the election (a runoff between her and Keisha Lance Bottoms) because the margin of victory was less than one percent. In the recount, Norwood’s margin improved by 11 votes, not enough to make a significant dent in the roughly 800 vote difference that gave Bottoms the victory. The final numbers were 46,661 votes for Bottoms and 45,840 votes for Norwood (50.44% to 49.56%) a difference of 821 votes.

Norwood also stated, “For the future of this city, I believe it is the right thing to do to move on and hold a new administration accountable to serve this great city well. I thank everyone who came forward to report polling situations and ballot issues that were concerning.”

Although elections for the Atlanta mayor’s position are non-partisan, Norwood ran as an Independent nd bottoms ran as a Democrat. Unfortunately, the election was more about race than politics. Norwood is white and Bottoms is black. Although she has denied having any connection with it, a robo-call prior to the election urged voters to “keep Atlanta black” by voting for Bottoms. Race appears to be a big concern among some voters because the percentage of black residents within the city’s limits has been dropping- from approximately 67% in 1990 to 53% in 2015.