Georgia's State Election Board has extended Two Emergency Rules for Absentee Voting ahead of the January 5th Runoff Elections.
In a Monday Meeting, the Five Members of the Board, which is Chaired by Republican Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, Voted to continue the use of Secure Absentee Ballot Drop Boxes and to require Counties to Process Absentee Ballots a Week and a Day before Jan. 5th, 2020, the Day of the Two Elections.
Previously, Counties were allowed to Voluntarily begin Handling these Ballots Two Weeks before Election Day.
Security Monitored Drop Boxes will continue to be used through the Runoffs. The Rule was Approved this Summer but was set to Expire, in December.
"The number of absentee ballot requests that we're seeing for the runoff is large as well, so if we want results at any time quickly, I think we're going to need to do this," General Counsel, Ryan Germany, told Georgia Public Broadcasting. "The last week before the election, it becomes mandatory to do processing and scanning."
Georgia Law does Not Allow Tabulation before Polls Close. As a result of this Rule, Ballots will be Scanned, Not Tabulated, Early.
While Early Scanning will Not begin the Counting Process, it will Speed-Up Tabulation once the Polls Close, which will in turn allow for Quicker Mail-In-Ballot Tallies and Final Results.
Voters should Notice No difference as a Result of these Emergency Rules, as they were in place for Georgia's June Primaries.
A Third Rule, about Residency for New Voter Registrations, that was brought forward to the Board was Scrapped from Discussion. Raffensperger and Others had previously raised Concerns that People may Move to Georgia solely to Vote in the January Runoffs, which will decide which Party Controls the U.S. Senate.
On Monday, the Secretary of State said his Office would issue Information to Counties as an Official Election Bulletin rather than Implement an Additional Rule.
As Part of an Audit, a Statewide Recount was Completed by Hand last week and Certified by both Raffensperger and Governor Brian Kemp. However, because President-Elect Joe Biden's Margin of Victory is under 0.5%, the Trump Campaign has again Requested a Recount of the Ballots.
The Current Senate Breakdown is: Republican with 53 Seats and Democrats with 47th Seats.
The Current Results from the 2020 Election has the Senate Split: Republicans with 50 Seats and the Democrats with 48 Seats, including Two Independents.
The Cuurent Certified Totals:
General Election: David Perdue (R-Incumbent) with 2,460,589, and Jon Ossoff (D) with 2,373,440, a Difference of 87,149. The Other Total is 114,988.
Special Election: Raphael Warnock (D) with 1,616,228, and Kelly Loeffler (R-Incombent) with 1,272,198 a Differeance of 344,030. The Total of Others is 2,022,804. This Race is Different from the Other. The Winner will be Seated as soon as the Race is Certified.
Here are some Key Dates to Remember as the Second Round of the Georgia Races Kick Off, according to the Georgia Secretary of State's website:
December 7th: Voter Registration Deadline to Vote in the Runoff Election.
December 14: Advanced In-Person or Early Voting begins for the Runoff Election.
January 5th, 2021: Federal Runoff Election Day.
The question is: How will the Other Voters Split their Votes in the Run-Off?
If the Results is a 50/50 Senate, that is another Post.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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