Vote against LaVista Hills cityhood stands
The vote that narrowly defeated the proposed city of LaVista Hills isn't being challenged in court.
LaVista Hills Alliance, a pro-cityhood group, announced Thursday it will instead turn over information about voting irregularities to state authorities who are investigating the referendum.
The referendum for a city of LaVista Hills fell short by 139 votes — about 1 percent of all ballots cast Nov. 3.
While the election's results aren't being contested, Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp and the GBI are investigating allegations of voting problems.
Mary Kay Woodworth, the president of LaVista Hills Alliance, said she’s heard reports of voters being locked out of precincts, an unsecured voting machine memory card, absentee ballots never being sent to military personnel and ballots being omitted from official vote counts.
“We have the utmost confidence in the Secretary of State’s Office to get to the bottom of this,” she said. “We just want to know if we had a fair and honest election.”
The investigation’s results will be turned over to the State Elections Board, which could levy fines against the county or recommend prosecutions.
About the Author
Mark Niesse is an enterprise reporter and covers elections and Georgia government for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and is considered an expert on elections and voting. Before joining the AJC, he worked for The Associated Press in Atlanta, Honolulu and Montgomery, Alabama. He also reported for The Daily Report and The Santiago Times in Chile.
