Kaiser Cruises in House District 59 Despite Voting Issue

Margaret Kaiser had 82 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary race for Georgia House District 59.

Democratic competitor William Phelps had 18 percent of the votes with 24 of 25 precincts reporting, according to unofficial results from Fulton County elections.

No Republicans signed up to challenge for the seat.

Kaiser, elected to the House in 2006, faced a challenge from Phelps, a political newcomer.

Kaiser listed access to public education, affordable healthcare, and equal protections for the state's residents among her top priorities.

Phelps, an East Point resident, is an eight-year veteran of the Marines, including a tour in Afghanistan in 2008.

A voting problem cropped up in the Reynoldstown community Tuesday that affected District 59.

Because the district had been redrawn from the 2010 census, some residents in the Reynoldstown neighborhood either didn't vote or couldn't because they did not have the right ballots.

Fulton County elections officials said the issue has since been resolved and it affected 300 voters on 10 streets in House District 58 and House District 59.

represents District 58; Margaret Kaiser represents District 59.

Reynoldstown became split when the districts were realigned, but some voters who tried to cast their ballots at two precints Tuesday morning — 05A1 and 05A2 in Southeast Atlanta — couldn't because they couldn't get the proper ballot.

"This issue affected only the State House races for a small portion of House Districts 58 and 59. No other races were affected by this issue," the Department of Registration & Elections said in a statement it issued just before 5 p.m.