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DeKalb Elections Board certifies June 21 runoff election results

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DeKalb Elections Board certifies June 21 runoff election results

A voter shows their sticker and stylus after casting a ballot at the Decatur Recreation Center on Tuesday, Nov. 2, Election Day. Photo by Dean Hesse.
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This story has been updated.

DeKalb County, GA — The DeKalb County Board of Registration and Elections, at its June 27 meeting, certified the results of the June 21 runoff election.

“We had a great day, even the advance voting period the week prior,” said Keisha Smith, executive director of the DeKalb County Voter Registration and Elections Department. “We had very few issues that were mitigated as they arose, and it really was a good opportunity for registered voters in DeKalb to make their voices heard, and we were able to do that efficiently during this June 21 runoff.”

The board also denied a request for a recount. Jacqueline Adams, a candidate for Georgia House of Representatives District 86, asked for a recount.

“We were in receipt of a recount request from Ms. Adams who was a candidate in the House District 86 district race and staff determined during the canvassing and our due diligence throughout last week that there was no evidence of error or discrepancy that would merit such a recount,” Smith said.

She added that Adams asked for a recount, but did not provide additional information with the request or make allegations about discrepancies in the election results.

Smith additionally presented a post-election report. There are 501,034 active voters in DeKalb County and 45,743 ballots cast during the June 21 runoff election. Voter turnout was at 9.1% for the primary runoff.

During advanced voting, 14,456 ballots were cast. Most voters voted early at the VRE office on Memorial Drive, as well as at South DeKalb Mall, Neighborhood Church and the early voting location in Tucker.

“We have seen an increase in advance voting,” Smith said. “It is something that has become popular in DeKalb County. You will note that there’s a 32% increase from the 2018 primary runoff. In 2018, there was 10% of voters that turned out, and now we had 32% or the June 21 runoff election.”

The county saw 18,928 new voter registrations year to date, Smith said. There were also 24,332 deletions as a result of cancelled registrations or transfers out of the county.

A total of 150 ballots were rejected due to an invalid or missing signature, or missing ID. Most were rejected because the VRE received them after the deadline.

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