1.3M HAVE VOTED IN GEORGIA RUNOFFS
Numbers indicate enthusiasm from both parties
More than 1.3 million Georgians have voted in two Senate runoffs taking place next month — a number that rivals the turnout at this point in the November election and points to intense enthusiasm in a pair of races that will determine control of Congress.
Democratic voters have an edge in the early turnout ahead of the Jan. 5 runoffs pitting Republican Sen. Kelly Loeff ler, a Republican, against the Rev. Raphael Warnock, a Democrat, and GOP Sen. David Perdue against challenger Jon Ossoff, a Democrat, a Washington Post analysis of Georgia voter data shows. But Republicans are closing the gap, and the current Democratic lead is slightly smaller than it was at this point in the general election.
The voter data offers little insight into which candidates may benefit from the early surge, with polls showing that the races are neck and neck. But the figures underscore the enthusiasm in both political parties. The results could determine whether President-elect Joe Biden can enact a more ambitious Democratic agenda or whether Republicans can block initiatives they oppose.
In below-freezing temperatures on a recent morning, voters in line to cast their ballots said they were eager to have a say in the highstakes contests.
Several Democratic voters said they were energized by Biden’s win and eager to see his priorities implemented with the help of a unified government, while some Republicans said they wanted to keep the incoming president in check with a GOP-controlled Senate.
“There needs to be compromise,” said Cindy Davidson, 63, a Republican who voted on Friday in Cobb County, a Democratic-leaning county northwest of Atlanta. “It can’t just be one way with everything, that’s not good no matter which party is in control.”
About 36,000 Georgians who did not vote in November cast ballots early for the January runoffs, according to state data. That includes people who were too young to vote last month.
Voters have been subject to a barrage of get-out-thevote activity and advertising. Campaigns and independent groups have spent more than $400 million on advertisements, ad data shows.
“These are highly motivated people who want to get in and do this stuff,” said Gabriel Sterling, a top official in the Georgia secretary of state’s office who manages the voter information system. “We don’t know if it’ll stay at this level,” especially with the holidays approaching.
Biden is the first Democratic presidential candidate to win in the traditionally red state since 1992.
“There’s a lot on the line,” Sterling said. “People’s emotions are raw right now. One side is elated and celebrating, and the other side is spitting nails.”
Georgia Democrats said they were pleased to see the party’s strong turnout in the first week of early voting.
“The turnout we’ve seen so far in this first week of early voting is unprecedented for a runoff election,” Maggie Chambers, spokeswoman for the Georgia Democratic Party, said in a statement. “Georgia voters came out strong in November to turn Georgia blue, and we are building on that momentum as we continue reaching out to voters in every corner of the state.”
After trailing Democrats in mail voting for the November election, Republicans have narrowed the gap for absentee votes in the runoffs, state data shows.
Asked for comment, Georgia Republican Party officials pointed to a recent Fox News interview with GOP strategist Karl Rove, who said the early returns of mail ballots in particular from older voters was a good sign that older Republican voters were casting ballots.
“This is a fight to the finish. Republicans are doing pretty good right now. They’ve got a long way to go,” Rove said in the interview.
While Georgia records do not identify each voter’s party affiliation, The Post used voting records in the 2020 primaries to determine the likely party affiliation of those who voted in the runoffs.
Georgia voters have traditionally preferred to vote in person rather than by mail. That changed this year with a surge in mail voting in the November elections because many people wanted to avoid exposure to the novel coronavirus at polling places.
But early-voting numbers show that more voters are casting their ballots in person than by mail compared with this point in the November election, which is more consistent with historical voter behavior in Georgia, Sterling said.