Georgia runoff key dates: Georgians have until December 7 to register to vote
ATLANTA - Election Day may be over, but which political party will control the U.S. Senate is still up in the air. In Georgia, voters are on track to vote again in January for its two senators.
Under state law, a senate candidate needs to hit 50% of the vote to avoid a runoff. Neither of the state's Republican senators -- David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler -- reached that cutoff, meaning both contests will likely go to a runoff January 5.
Here are some key dates for Georgians to remember as the runoff races kick off, according to the Georgia Secretary of State's website:
- November 18: Earliest day for a registrar to mail an absentee ballot for the general election runoff
- December 7: Voter registration deadline to vote in the federal runoff election
- December 14: Advanced in-person or early voting begins for the general election runoff for federal offices
- January 5, 2021: Federal runoff election day
Loeffler, who was appointed late last year to fill the seat of retiring Sen. Johnny Isakson, faced multiple candidates in her race, including the Rev. Raphael Warnock, a Democrat, and GOP Rep. Doug Collins, depriving her of enough votes to win outright.
In the other race, Perdue was sitting under the 50% threshold required to win the November contest against Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff outright, making it almost certain that the pair will also meet in the January 5 election. Both candidates are already campaigning for the runoff.
REQUEST AN ABSENTEE BALLOT FOR RUNOFF
Loeffler and Perdue issued a joint statement this week, asserting that "the management of Georgia elections has become an embarrassment for our state" and called for Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to resign. Raffensberger, a Republican, assured that such a move "is not going to happen."
In an interview with FOX 5, Raffensperger said his office has "not found have any widespread voter fraud." The Secretary indicated there would be a recount.
Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, also a Republican, said earlier this week that his office has not seen any evidence of widespread voter fraud or irregularities in his state.
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