ATLANTA — The polls have closed for all city of Atlanta precincts in the runoff election for mayor.
After months on the campaign trial, Andre Dickens and Felicia Moore and their supporters waited anxiously as election officials tallied of the votes to determine who will be the 61st mayor of Atlanta.
The first results from early and absentee voting began to trickle in shortly after polls closed at 8 p.m., but it remained too early to call the election.
At Dickens’ watch party at the Gathering Spot, dozens gathered in a room of shimmering blue streamers and red balloons. Lively R&B music was playing overhead and TV was playing on a screen taking up more than a third of a wall. The room quickly became so packed that the party may have to be moved to another room in the building.
At Moore’s campaign event at the W Atlanta hotel downtown, poles were decorated with blue, white and orange balloons surrounding the stage and light music played as about 75 people mingled with drinks and small plates.
Fulton County elections director Richard Barron said during a brief Tuesday evening meeting of the county elections board that the county had a “smooth” day free of major issues. He said they hope to have complete results by 11 p.m., while DeKalb officials said they hope to be done by 10 p.m.
Fulton Commission Chairman Robb Pitts said turnout was “just horrible, horrible, for an election as important as this.”
Each candidate visited around a dozen polling locations throughout the day Tuesday, hoping to encourage residents to get to the polls for an election in which voter turnout was predicted to be low.
“I’ve taken probably 400 selfies today, so I’m feeling good going into tonight,” Dickens said around 6 p.m. outside the Joan P. Garner Library at Ponce De Leon.
Voters who hit the polls Tuesday said crime and affordable housing were top issues for them; a recent Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll found those were the top two most pressing issues for residents.
Georgia Tech educator Cedric Stallworth, 54, had the opportunity Tuesday to do something few teachers have: vote for his former computer science student, Andre Dickens, as the next mayor.
“He’s going to come at it from an engineering standpoint, which is a little bit of a fresh breath of air,” said Stallworth, who voted in the Old Fourth Ward. “I know how Andre thinks, I know how he approaches problems, I’ve known him since he was 18 years old, so I’m very proud to live in a society where I’m actually voting for one of my former students for mayor.”
Lucy Sharpe, 69, said she has lived in Atlanta her entire life and said this is the worst she has seen crime.
“I want experience leading this city. I want someone who has sound financial principles and someone who has climbed the ladder, so to speak,” Sharpe said. “I am ready for a true leader.”
Also on the runoff ballot: the election for City Council president, between veteran Councilwoman Natalyn Archibong and former Woodruff Arts Center CEO Doug Shipman.
Six Atlanta City Council seats were also decided in runoff elections Tuesday, including two posts held by longtime incumbents facing progressive challengers.
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(Atlanta Journal-Constitution staff writers Anjali Huynh, Tyler Wilkins, Adrianne Murchison, Tyler Estep and Alia Malik contributed to this article.)
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