Georgia voters are once again left with the final say in how Congress will look as the nation watches the Senate runoff race between Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker.
Democrats have already secured the upper chamber’s majority with victories in other states, but that doesn’t mean nothing is at stake Tuesday.
For starters, Georgia’s special election will determine whether the chamber remains evenly split at 50-50, which proved to be a difficult tightrope for President Joe Biden and the Democrats.
If Warnock wins, the 51-seat majority gives Senate Democrats control of committees and frees them from leaning on Vice President Kamala Harris to cast tie-breaking votes.
Georgia Senate runoff: Football icon Herschel Walker, Sen. Raphael Warnock clash in runoff election
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But if Walker prevails that keeps the pressure on Democrats to remain united.
It also gives their caucuses moderate to conservative-leaning senators more power in terms of close judicial nominations or other important administrative confirmations.
Here’s the latest:
Why is there a runoff election? And could tonight’s runoff go to a recount?
On election night, Sen. Raphael Warnock was up about 1 percentage point over Herschel Walker – not enough to avoid a runoff, with the Libertarian drawing 2% of the vote, but enough to avoid a recount in Georgia.
There is also a procedure if an election administrator or candidate believes that there has been an error in the count. If a candidate requests a recount due to an error, it will happen at the discretion of the secretary of state.
– Abraham Kenmore
Early voting:Appeals court rejects challenge to Saturday early voting in Georgia’s Warnock vs. Walker runoff
Georgia election: DOJ to monitor Georgia runoff
The Justice Department will monitor polls in four Georgia counties Tuesday as voters cast their ballots in the Senate runoff election, the last remaining contest in the 2022 midterms.
Justice regularly dispatches monitors as a guard against voting rights violations. And on Tuesday, monitors from the Civil Rights Division and U.S. attorneys’ offices will be deployed to Cobb, Fulton, Gwinnett and Macon-Bibb counties.
Complaints involving possible violations can be made on the department’s website or by telephone at 800-253-3931.
– Kevin Johnson
What is a runoff election?:Georgians head to the polls for Warnock v. Walker round two.
Georgia GOP Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan: Herschel Walker one of the ‘worst Republican candidate’ in party history
Georgia Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, who was elected in 2018, told CBS news that he would not be voting for Walker.
“I think Herschel Walker will probably go down as one of the worst Republican candidates in our party’s history,” he told CBS News last week.
“I think I’ve got kids probably that could articulate the conservative platform better than some of the candidates that Donald Trump and his group supported all across the country,” he added.
– Rachel Looker
What to know about the Georgia runoff:When is the Georgia runoff election? Voters will head to the polls today.
What is a runoff election?
Similar to a political tiebreaker, a runoff election is a second contest held when no candidate wins the majority of votes in a general election.
In Georgia, runoffs are held four weeks after a general election when the top two candidates did not earn more than 50% of the vote. A candidate has to earn the majority of votes to win in a runoff election.
Both Georgia Senate candidates Walker and Warnock did not meet the 50% vote threshold on Nov. 8, with Warnock leading Walker by more than 30,000 votes – earning 49.4% of total votes. Walker earned 48.5% and the remaining 2.1% went to libertarian candidate Chase Oliver, triggering the runoff.
Anyone who is registered to vote can cast a ballot in a runoff election.
– Rachel Looker
Who is Sen. Raphael Warnock?
Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, 53, was first elected to Congress in 2020 after winning a special election runoff to fill a vacant seat. Born in Savannah, Georgia, the senator has served as a pastor for over 16 years at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, the former church of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Warnock has dubbed himself a “pro-choice pastor,” according to his campaign website, and has criticized the Supreme Court for overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion.
The Democratic incumbent has emphasized the need to fight for criminal justice reform measures while funding the police. He is an advocate for Medicaid expansion and capping the cost of insulin and prescriptions.
Warnock believes access to education shouldn’t depend on zip codes and has advocated to lower the cost of higher education, fighting for student loan forgiveness.
– Rachel Looker
Warnock vs. Walker: From toss-up to leans Democratic
Polls continue to show Warnock and Walker locked in a tight race that could go either way, but some political forecasters are giving the Democrats an edge.
The Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia, a newsletter that analyzes campaigns, moved Georgia from a “toss-up” to “leans Democratic” state on Monday.
It noted that Georgia remains a competitive state, but that “most indicators point to a Warnock advantage” including the early voting data and that Democrats are heavily outspending Republicans.
“If Warnock ends up winning… we can all agree on one thing: He will have certainly earned a full term. Over the span of 2 years, Warnock ran a gauntlet of 4 high-stakes races,” J. Miles Coleman, an associate editor of the newsletter, said.
— Phillip M. Bailey
Warnock vs. Walker: Saturday voting and runoff timeframe
Georgia was embroiled in one of the more controversial voting rights battles the Republican-controlled state legislature changed the election rules in early 2021.
Among the biggest changes that had an impact on the Dec. 6 special election under the measure, known as SB 202, was shortening the runoff election from nine weeks to four weeks, and cutting early voting from 17 days to five.
Another fight created by the new law was over Saturday voting.
Initially, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office suggested Georgia counties had the option to provide Saturday voting on Nov. 26.
But later the office said there would be no Saturday voting, citing its interpretation of SB 202, which prevents early in-person voting being held on any Saturday that comes after a holiday on a Thursday or Friday.
Democrats, including the Warnock campaign, pounced on Raffensperger’s office and quickly filed suit against the decision. A judge, and eventually an appeals court, ruled against the GOP in court and allowed voting on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
— Phillip M. Bailey
Obama and Warnock:Obama paints GOP as party of ‘Looney Tunes’ as he campaigns for Warnock ahead of Georgia runoff
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Georgia election: Nearly 2 million have already voted
Over the past two years Georgia voters have had a marathon of contests – the 2020 presidential election, two separate 2021 Senate runoff contests and the 2022 midterms.
But if the early voting numbers are any indication the Peach State is just as engaged for the Dec. 6 runoff as any other contest.
According to the secretary of state’s office, more than 1.8 million Georgians have already voted.
Last Friday, the last day for early voting, more than 350,000 Georgians cast a ballot, shattering the one-day record for early voting.
“Georgia is a national leader in voter access and security,” Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said in a statement.
“We are having historic levels of turnout and those who want to vote are voting- we believe this level of voter participation is excellent, and we’ll keep working with counties to encourage them to open more early voting locations in the future.”
— Phillip M. Bailey
Georgia runoff election: Polls opened at 7 a.m.
Polling places in Georgia’s 159 counties opened at 7 a.m. for the Dec. 6 runoff, and will close at 7:00 p.m.
As in most state, if a person is line by 7:00 p.m., they are allowed to cast your ballot.
— Phillip M. Bailey