Talia Schwartz, Senior
A lawsuit filed by Georgia Senator Raphael G. Warnock, who actively defended his position against Republican candidate Herschel Walker, resulted in an additional voting day for Georgia’s citizens. Incumbent Warnock fought for this extra voting day with the goal of attracting more voters than usual, mainly because Saturday voting gave people “greater opportunities to cast a ballot for voters who may be occupied during the week.” Many college students, police officers, healthcare workers, and retired individuals took advantage of this extra day, for they may not have been able to vote otherwise. Early voting in Georgia’s senate elections continued through Friday, December 2, and attracted more than double the voters than in 2018. Warnock’s supporters hoped that the extra voting day for the runoff election would favor the Democratic incumbent because more Democrats took advantage of the Saturday early vote. While Warnock received around 35,000 more votes than Walker in the November 8 general election, he didn’t meet the required 50% popular vote to avoid a runoff election. Due to this, the Georgia Senate election became one of the most expensive races in this midterm election.
Polling before the runoff showed that Warnock was ahead of Walker by 51% to 47%. Meanwhile, Republicans hoped to shift favor in support of Walker to prevent a Democratic majority in the Senate. Warnock’s win on December 6 means that Democrats will hold a majority of 51 seats in the Senate. Republicans, therefore, emphasized Warnock’s support for President Biden, who is unpopular in Georgia. Walker, the Republican candidate, had support from former President Trump and has campaigned “as a staunch opponent of abortion, saying he would support a national ban on the procedure.” In contrast, former President Barack Obama supported Warnock and spoke in a rally on December 1 in support of the incumbent.
Republican politicians who opposed the additional voting day argued that it would be expensive and not worth the effort, while Democrats sought to prove that the turnout would be worth the added cost. The voting day, meanwhile, only cost around $1100 to achieve, and both political parties ultimately agreed that Saturday voting made it “easier to vote around work and travel plans.” Voter discrimination and lack of voter turnout tends to benefit Republicans, while the additional voting day usually helps Democrats.
The additional voting day is beneficial because it allows voters greater access to the ballot. Equal access and opportunities to vote is a fundamental American value, and therefore needs to be addressed through legislation, such as the additional voting day. Other potential solutions to the issue of unequal voting access include additional voting locations and more options for absentee ballots, in addition to increased assurance that these votes will be sent in on time.
This Georgia runoff election between Warnock and Walker was crucial because it not only determined the dominant political party in the Senate, but it also brought Georgia closer to becoming a purple state than its historical red alliance.