Joe Biden will look very closely at how Georgia’s Democratic candidates fare in the Senate seat.
The result is of great importance for his future policy.
The
runoff election in Georgia
for two Senate seats could be close, at least that's what the latest polls predict.
It
is not entirely certain
when there will be a
result
.
That also depends on how tight it gets.
This
result ticker
is updated regularly.
Atlanta, Georgia -
Two Senate runoff elections are
hugely important to Washington’s political life.
Because if both
Democrats
win their runoff election, it will be 50:50 in the Senate.
The Vice-President-elect would then have the casting vote
Kamala Harris of the Democrats.
For the plans of President-elect
Joe Biden
, who is due to take office on January 20, the
Senate *
important.
Because with a majority of the
Republicans
, like at times under Barack Obama, they could block far-reaching plans about the climate or the health system.
7 p.m. local time, i.e. 1 a.m. German time, close in
Georgia *
the polling stations.
The first “exit poll results”, ie results of polls on election day, are expected as early as 11 p.m. German time.
The
runoff elections became
necessary because none of the candidates in the US election on November 3, 2020 managed to win the necessary 50 percent of the vote.
A Republican incumbent was very close to it.
Results of the Senate election in Georgia * on November 3, 2020
(Source: CNN)
:
David Perdue
(Republican, incumbent): 49.7 percent //
Jon Ossoff
(Democrat): 47.9 percent
Raphael Warnock
(Democrat): 32.9 percent //
Kelly Loeffler
(Republican, incumbent): 25.9 percent
In the race between
Warnock
and
Loeffler, it
is important to note that another Republican candidate received 20 percent of the vote in the first election.
Are these voters now giving Loeffler their vote?
Georgia Election: In polls it looks like a very close race
In the last
polls
published by the data website FiveThirtyEight (as of January 5), the two Democratic candidates were slightly ahead.
But the race is very close, which is why surveys can be deceiving here.
Many voters cast their votes before Tuesday.
Although the
turnout is
not as high as in the
2020 US election *
, presidential elections are something very special.
Gabriel Sterling,
Georgia
Election Commissioner
, gave a press conference Tuesday noon (local time).
According to him, 1,018,382 voters voted in advance by
postal vote
, and 2,074,994 people cast their
votes
personally
when
voting early
.
So before Election Day, over three million people in Georgia voted.
It's Runoff Election Day!
If you're heading to the polls today, don't forget to:
Go early.
Bring your ID.
Wear a mask.
Social distance at the polls. # BeAGeorgiaVoter
- GeorgiaGov (@georgiagov) January 5, 2021
It
is not yet certain
when there will be an
end result
.
As a reminder: after the US election on November 3, 2020, it took ten days for a result to be determined.
However, the
New York Times identifies
several reasons why it might not be that long this time.
Although many voters once again voted by postal vote, there are fewer candidates on the slips of paper, which speeds up the counting.
There is also a new rule in
Georgia
that allows election workers to make important preparations before the polls close.
The actual counting process may not begin until 7 p.m. local time, but this preparatory work could save a lot of time.
Georgia Election: Postal votes can still arrive through Friday
Further postal votes from overseas and from the military can arrive by Friday.
Depending on how close the race gets, the lesser or greater importance.
At the start of the
count
, there is a good chance the Republican candidates are ahead.
That was already the case in the presidential election.
Because traditionally Republicans prefer to vote on election day, whereas more Democrats, also now because of the corona pandemic, vote by postal vote.
As soon as these voices flow in, the result could possibly change.
(cibo) * Merkur.de is part of the Ippen-Digital network.
List of rubric lists: © Ben Gray / FR171789 AP / dpa