Early voting begins today in Atlanta mayor, other runoff contests

Early voting in local and state runoffs begins today, including races for Atlanta mayor and council seats, the Fulton County Commission chairmanship and a series of legislative races and municipal elections across the metro area.

Early voting runs daily though Friday before the races conclude with the runoffs Dec. 5. There will be no voting over the weekend. Friday is also the last day to mail absentee ballots.

Voters in the runoff for Atlanta mayor will choose between Keisha Lance Bottoms and Mary Norwood — the two top vote getters in the Nov. 7 general election. The race between the two sitting City Council members has grown increasingly contentious in the past week.

Mayor Kasim Reed, who is backing Bottoms, called Norwood a “loser” last week and she fired back that the mayor should be “ashamed” for using debasing and bullying language. Norwood’s remarks over the summer accusing Reed of winning the 2009 race against her with the use of voter fraud also surfaced last week. There are also several Atlanta City Council and school board races that will be decided in the runoff elections.

Other cities that will have runoff races for mayor include East Point, Peachtree City and Roswell. Several City Council and commission seats will also be decided, including races in Johns Creek, Marietta, Peachtree Corners and Smyrna.

The runoff for Fulton County’s

chairmanship — the county’s top elected post — has Keisha Sean Waites going up against Robb Pitts. Waites was a state representative until this year when she resigned to run for the county post. Pitts is a longtime local official having served both on the Atlanta City Council and the Fulton Commission.

Several state Senate and House races will be decided with runoff races for seats vacated when incumbents resigned to seek other offices.

The Senate District 6 race pits Jaha Howard against Jen Jordan — both Democrats — to represent parts of north Atlanta, Sandy Springs, Smyrna and Marietta previously represented by Republican Hunter Hill. The Senate District 39 race pits Linda Pritchett against Nikema Williams — both Democrats — to represent parts of Atlanta, as well as College Park, East Point and Union City previously represented by Vincent Fort, a Democrat.

The House District 60 race (parts of south Fulton and Clayton counties) features De’Andre S. Pickett versus Kim Schofield — both Democrats — to represent the area previously represented by Waites, a Democrat. The District 89 race (parts of southeast Atlanta and DeKalb County) pits Bee Nguyen against Sachin Varghese — both Democrats — to fill the vacant seat of Stacey Abrams, a Democrat.