Black Georgians aim to make their votes matter in runoffs

If the Democratic challengers in Georgia’s two U.S. Senate races win Tuesday, it will be in part because of people like Bill Boles.

After standing in line for more than 30 minutes to vote in November’s general election, Boles, 62, a Black man and a chef at an assisted living facility, returned to his polling place in Atlanta’s suburban Gwinnett County on Dec. 5 — a day after early voting started — to cast his votes for the two Democratic candidates, Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff.

Boles said he was “really eager” to go back to the polls for a second time in two months, because of extensive efforts by Democratic organizations to get people to the polls, and because those efforts have helped potential voters to understand how critical their votes can be. The stakes couldn’t be higher: If Democrats win both races, the party would control the U.S. Senate.

“With all of the diverse transplants from around the country moving to Atlanta, and with the racial tone in America, and with all of the advertisements and emails telling people why it’s important to vote once again, this election season is like the dawning of a new day,” said Boles, a Boston native who moved to

Atlanta in 1986.

“Black people used to not vote because we didn’t think it mattered. Black lives didn’t matter, and Black voters didn’t matter. But we want to make sure our vote makes a difference this time.”

About 3 million people voted early in the runoff elections, according to an analysis of data from Georgia’s secretary of state. Even before the day of the election, more people have voted than the total who did so in the 2014 election that sent David Perdue to the U.S. Senate. Now, the Republican incumbent is in a close battle against Ossoff, and the state’s second incumbent Republican Senator, Kelly Loe±er, is locked in a close race against Warnock.

The current, extended election cycle is Loe±er’s first time facing voters; she was appointed by Georgia’s governor to finish Johnny Isakson’s term when the longtime senator retired due to poor health.

Voting data analysis suggests the early voting advantage went to Democrats, extending a pattern seen in the 2020 presidential election. Black Georgians comprised 34 percent of early voters, up from 31 percent in the general election, according to turnout analysis by Bernard Fraga, an associate professor of political science at Emory University.