Mary Norwood, who finished less than 900 votes behind Keisha Lance Bottoms in last week’s mayoral runoff, is requesting a hand count of all paper ballots cast in the election, as well as a recanvass of every vote cast in both DeKalb and Fulton counties.
“Additionally, in reviewing election data and voter complaints, there are several discrepancies that have come to our attention,” Norwood’s attorneys said in a Dec. 12, 2017, letter to the Atlanta city clerk and the Fulton and DeKalb election boards. “We are aware of at least one elector who cast a ballot on a voting machine during advance voting but does not appear in the absentee voter file or on the numbered list of voters. We understand that this type of irregularity has previously occurred, resulting in double-voting.
“It also appears that some people voted during both absentee voting and on election day, as they are listed in both the absentee voter file and the number list of voters. These discrepancies must be investigated during the recount.”
Norwood’s attorneys also said many voters have complained that despite requesting an absentee ballot, they never received one.
“The election data also indicates that some voters may not reside in the City of Atlanta despite voting in the Runoff Election for Mayor,” the letter said.
Bottoms has already moved into a transition office in City Hall. Her attorney said there's no evidence that "poll workers didn’t do their jobs in Dekalb or Fulton. In fact, we commend the boards of registration and election in both Dekalb and Fulton counties of running a very tight error-free election process."
