Georgia’s highly-anticipated Senate runoff races are officially underway as early voting begins in the state.
Republican incumbents David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler are running against Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock, respectively.
After a clear winner was not determined in either race during the general election, runoffs were scheduled for January 5, 2021. Early voting begins Monday (December 14) and will last until December 31.
If the Democratic challengers win these elections, Democrats will take control of the Senate, since Vice president-elect Kamala Harris will serve as Senate President to break ties.
Voting rights advocates are alarmed at the state’s decrease in early voting sites, a move that state election officials say stems from burnout poll workers felt following the election on November 3.
Last week, a group of advocates brought a complaint against Cobb County, the state’s third largest county, which dropped from 11 early voting sites to five. The groups pointed out that the closure of some sites disproportionately affected voters of color, who lived farther away from the sites that were to remain open.
County officials announced Wednesday (December 9) that an additional two sites will be added during the third week of the early voting period.
CNN reported long lines of voters waiting outside of Marietta polling sites before sunrise, despite rainy weather.
President-elect Joe Biden is slated to campaign for Ossoff and Warnock on Tuesday (December 15). Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro attended a rally last week in support of the Democratic challengers.
Stacey Abrams, LaTosha Brown, and a host of other organizers in the state continued working to get voters registered and out to the polls since Election Day over a month ago.
All eyes will remain on this race as the formal transition of power and inauguration of Biden approach.
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