More than 1.3 million people have already cast mail-in ballots or voted early in-person in the Jan. 5 Georgia Senate runoffs. Just over 4 million voted in the Nov. 3 general election.
The data is displayed on GeorgiaVotes.com, and shows 524,547 absentee mail-in ballots cast and 811,589 early votes. The overall tally at a similar point in the general election is down 7%, but in-person early voting is up 9% while mail-in balloting is down 25%, according to the data.
“Georgians are fired up,” Georgia Democrat strategist Greg Nasif told Yahoo News. “While some folks like me will always hold out hope for 100% turnout and find disappointment when we inevitably fall short, I think many will be very pleased with how the voters turn out.”
Incumbent Sens. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., and David Perdue, R-Ga., are facing stiff challenges from Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff in the runoffs for the final seats in the Senate.
Republicans already have 50 seats, so winning one of those two will earn the GOP the Senate majority again. Democrats need to sweep the runoffs for a 50-50 split, but a Vice President Kamala Harris will grant the party the edge and hand is the Senate chairs.
“As the Georgia secretary of state noted, the president’s public hostility toward mail voting cost him in key states, and it’s a significant issue Republicans are seeking to address by telling their people to vote however they can, including absentee,” Republican strategist Liam Donovan told Yahoo News. “If they don’t address this inequity, you could very well see another election-night lead for Republicans eroded as the mail votes roll in.”
Among those who have voted in the runoff thus far, 59% voted in the Democrat primary versus the Republican primary (39%), The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
Author: Eric Mack
Source: News Max: Already 1.3M Votes Cast in Jan. 5 Georgia Senate Runoffs
