The Georgia Secretary of State has called for a runoff election

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ATLANTA – Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger on Wednesday called for the state legislature to eliminate runoff voting during next year’s session after another bitter overtime. Election took over the state earlier this month.

Raffensberger, a Republican, cited the added pressure that running a runoff would put on districts and voters as part of his reasoning.

“Whether it’s a four-week general election runoff or a nine-week runoff, voters don’t want to deal with politics in the middle of their vacation,” Raffensberger said in a statement to The Washington Post. “This puts significant pressure on our election officials who must focus on certifying and auditing election results.”

The secretary also said in a statement that Georgia is “one of the only states that has ever had a runoff.” A peculiar runoff system Product Lawmakers later acknowledged that its post-apartheid electoral laws were intended to stifle growing black political power.

Raffensperger had no direct role in the legislative process determining Georgia election law. Although he has recently outlined options that could be adopted in the 2023 General Assembly session, he has not endorsed any alternative voting process for runoffs and is unwilling to press state lawmakers about which method to adopt.

Still, his comments are the most significant opposition the runoff organization has faced amid growing criticism and increased statewide incidents. His critical view of the runoffs came in part because of changes to the controversial 2021 Georgia voting law that shortened the time between the general election and the general election from nine weeks to four weeks.

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The shortened window has led to unprecedented pressure on elections workers Cheating on various reviews as required by law and by law Controversies Early voting in the middle of the holiday season. Voters expressed widespread frustration after returning to the polls for the fourth election in two years.

As a few states and municipalities have done recently, Georgia, like most states, may adopt a plurality voting system, in which the candidate with the most votes wins, regardless of whether they receive 50 percent of the vote or a ranked-choice vote.

Georgia’s governing Republican Party has not taken a public position on the issue, while state Democrats and voting rights advocates have called for an end to the run-offs but are divided on what to replace them with.

Raffensperger noted Middle Ages The 2021 election saw high in-person voting numbers and many counties offer extensive in-person early voting, though absentee ballots have fallen sharply since the state’s controversial redistricting.

Last week, Sen. Raphael G. Warnock (D) defeated Herschel Walker (R). Election. Warnock had the majority of the vote on 8 November, but was just over the 50 per cent threshold. Warnock was first elected to the Senate in a 2021 runoff that helped Democrats secure the upper chamber.

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