Atlanta Mayor Under Investigation For Social Media Video

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An investigation has been opened against the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office looking at Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed’s actions on Election Day.

WSB-TV reports the investigation started when a complaint about a video posted on the mayor’s Instagram and Facebook surfaced.

Filmed outside of Fickett Elementary School, the video showed Reed with his wife and daughter. The video revealed that the family encouraged people to vote for Keisha Lance Bottom and that they voted for her.

The mayor could be heard in the video introducing himself and his family and the saying, “…we just voted for the next mayor of Atlanta, Keisha Lance Bottoms.”

The problem? Georgia law states that no one is supposed to solicit for votes in any way on any day ballots are cast within 150 feet of where voting takes place. The violation can result in a misdemeanor charge.

The video suggests that Reed and his family are within 150 feet of the school. Bottoms received most of the votes in the mayoral race and is now in a runoff against candidate Mary Norwood.

A spokesperson for the Secretary of State released a statement to WSB-TV news saying, “We received a complaint yesterday regarding statements that Mayor Reed allegedly made at his polling place. We review every complaint that we receive and that we have opened a State Election Board investigation into the matter. We cannot say anything further about this pending investigation at this time.”

WSB-TV went a step further and contacted the mayor’s office after finding out about the investigation. The statement said, “This purported news story is nonsense. It is nothing more than an attempt by Mary Norwood to distract attention away from her unexpected loss last evening. We also know that Aaron Diamant and WSB are supporting Ms. Norwood’s campaign for mayor and will go to any lengths to prop her up.”

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