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Voters will choose state senator in runoff election Tuesday

Voters signed in to cast ballots at Mary McLeod Bethune Middle School in July. Bob Andres/BANDRES@AJC.COM
Voters signed in to cast ballots at Mary McLeod Bethune Middle School in July. Bob Andres/BANDRES@AJC.COM
By
Nov 30, 2015

Voters will go to the polls Tuesday for a runoff election to decide who will fill a Georgia Senate seat representing parts of DeKalb, Rockdale and Newton counties.

Former Rockdale Commissioner JaNice Van Ness, a Republican from Conyers, will face former state Rep. Tonya Anderson, a Democrat from Lithonia.

The winner of the election will represent Senate District 43, which covers about 173,000 residents.

Van Ness and Anderson were the two leading candidates among eight people on the ballot during a Nov. 3 special election.

The Senate seat became vacant in July when Gov. Nathan Deal appointed Sen. Ronald Ramsey, D-Lithonia, to become a judge in DeKalb County State Court's Traffic Division.

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.

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