A recount in a Georgia Senate race Monday didn't change the election's results, as Republican JaNice Van Ness maintained her 84-vote margin of victory over Democrat Tonya Anderson.
Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp ordered the recount Friday following a request from Anderson, a former state representative from Lithonia.
Anderson’s campaign questioned why one precinct’s results didn’t show any votes cast on Election Day.
DeKalb Elections Director Maxine Daniels said all votes were counted, but ballots from two precincts that shared a polling location were inadvertently combined. The Panola Road precinct’s 48 votes were included in vote totals for Miller Grove High.
County election officials conducted the recount Monday morning by reloaded voting memory cards into computers and then tabulating the results.
“There’s no change, as we expected. Everything was identical,” Daniels said. “We’re going to check from now on to make sure votes in co-located precincts are correctly allocated.”
Anderson said she was satisfied that her questions about the vote count were answered.
“It is important to maintain the integrity of our election system and be certain that every vote is counted,” she said. “Our recount request was not about my opponent or myself. This was about ensuring a fair and open process that protects every vote.”
Van Ness will represent about 172,000 residents in Senate District 43, which covers parts of DeKalb, Rockdale and Newton counties.
Van Ness, the founder of Peachtree Academy Private School and Early Childhood Centers, didn’t return a phone message and an email seeking comment.
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