Election Day is here. The top issue for many voters? Crime

Around 9 a.m. Steve Corbin had already cast his ballot and was making his way out of the Metropolitan Library, a polling location in South Atlanta.

The Fulton County resident said he’s been voting for 61 years and was certain who he was going to back this time around.

“I want to vote and make sure that we get the right candidates to help the communities,” he said. “To help the city of Atlanta. Period.”

He summed up the top issues on his mind. “The city, the streets, the schools, the crime,” Corbin quipped. “Other than that, hey, I’m good.” 

After casting his vote, he said he was on his way home to eat breakfast and call his sister to make sure she cast her ballot, too.

Caption

A voter holds up a voting sticker after casting a ballot at the Metropolitan Library polling location in South Atlanta on Nov. 11.

Credit: Riley Bunch/GPB News

Corbin was one of many Atlanta residents who took to the polls on Tuesday to vote in an election that will shape the future of Georgia’s largest city. The municipal election had a number of races on the ballot — among them, the coveted mayoral seat that has drawn a large pool of candidates.

A number of polls leading up to the start of voting indicated Atlanta’s residents were torn on the mayoral candidates.

Former Mayor Kasim Reed and City Council President Felicia Moore have been neck-and-neck in polling numbers, with others far behind them.

Current Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced in May she would not be running for reelection during an emotional news conference. The high-profile Democrat lamented about the difficulties of navigating the pandemic and mass protests sparked by police killings across the country.

The city remains in a period of uncertainty and Bottoms’ successor will face tough challenges, including how to tackle the spike in violent crime and rebounding from the pandemic.

Many of those issues were top of mind for voters when they went to cast their ballots.

Fulton County resident Holly Oldham said affordable housing, education and public safety are the top priorities she’d like to see from the city’s new leadership.

Local elections, she said, are just as important as Georgia’s high-profile congressional races that made headlines last year.

“Local elections affect our day-to-day as much as our national elections,” she said. “So we want to make sure that we cast our vote.”

Caption

Candidate yard signs line the street outside of the Metropolitan Library, a polling location in South Atlanta, on Nov. 2.

Credit: Riley Bunch/GPB News

Trey Hood, political science professor at the University of Georgia, said unlike partisan contests, voters are on their own for making decisions.

“It is a nonpartisan race with 14 people in it,” he said. “So when you go to vote, you have to know the person you want to vote for. There is no party label to help you out.”

There is no clear favorite, Hood said, but he suspects the crowded mayoral race will go to a runoff between Reed and Moore.