Gwinnett County school board member Karen Watkins said in an email Wednesday that she will not pursue a recount in the District 1 race against newcomer Rachel Stone.
The nonpartisan race was decided on June 18 by 17 votes, a margin of less than 0.5%. Georgia law allows a candidate to request a recount if the margin is less than or equal to 0.5%. That request has to be made within two business days of the results being certified.
Watkins, the board’s vice chair, was elected to the board in 2020, and her term ends in December. The District 1 race was initially a field of three, with Watkins receiving 41% of votes versus Stone receiving 31%. The results flipped in the runoff but in a much tighter race.
In her email and a subsequent announcement, Watkins said Georgia election procedures dilute voter turnout.
She noted Georgia is one of 10 states that hold runoffs in primary elections when no candidate receives a majority of votes. Of the more than 140,000 registered voters in District 1, 18,590 voted in the school board race, which was on the May 21 primary ballot. In the June 18 runoff, 3,719 people voted.
“This quick turnaround and the reduced voter turnout highlight the challenges voters face in runoff elections,” Watkins said. “(Voter) suppression is very real in Georgia. It’s essential to learn about your candidates and vote in every race to make sure your voice is heard.”
The school board race also had different circumstances than when Watkins was first elected. She ran as a Democrat in a partisan race, received 59% of votes and unseated 16-year incumbent Republican Carole Boyce. The race appeared on the November presidential ballot, and almost 95,000 voted.
The 2020 elections shifted the longtime Republican board to majority Democrat, and the new majority soon ended the contract of 25-year Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks. Republican lawmakers then targeted Gwinnett’s school board, using legislation to make the board nonpartisan in 2022. That change led to the school board races being decided much earlier in election years, separate from the most high-profile races.
Watkins’ announcement confirms the board will have two new members in 2025. Incumbent Tarece Johnson-Morgan won another term in District 5. The results of the election are likely to bring some new voting dynamics.
Over the past year, Watkins has been a part of the majority of split votes along with Chair Steve Knudsen and Mary Kay Murphy. Watkins and Murphy will leave the board in 2025, being replaced by Stone, a legal professional and former special education and career technical education teacher, and business owner and sales professional Steve Gasper, respectively.
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