While most vote watchers in Georgia are looking at Gwinnett ballots to help decide if the gubernatorial race will end in a runoff or if the 7th District race will find Democrat Carolyn Bourdeaux or Republican incumbent Rob Woodall the victor, two candidates in a smaller race are also holding their collective breaths.
At the end of the night on Tuesday, Nov. 6, Republican Steven Knudsen had 175 votes more than his Democrat rival, Wandy Taylor in the race for Gwinnett County’s District 2 seat on the board of education. But with thousands of absentee and provisional ballots still out, nobody has broken out the champagne quite yet.
Two separate court rulings, one late Monday and another Tuesday, put disqualified absentee ballots in Gwinnett back into play.
A week after Election Day the needle has moved slightly in Taylor’s favor. Knudsen’s lead is narrowed to 162 votes.
Gwinnett is the only county in the state that hasn’t certified election results to the Secretary of State, but a court ruling expected Wednesday could put additional ballots into play.
A third federal judge decide Tuesday that Gwinnett should count absentee ballots missing valid birth dates. That would add about 300 ballots.
U.S. District Judge Steve Jones will also rule on whether provisional ballots cast by voters who were registered in a different county should be counted. The county has delayed certification until Thursday.
AJC reporter Tyler Estep contributed to this report.
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