More than 2 million Georgians have already voted in the January 5 twin elections to the Senate, where the Republican majority in the Senate is at stake.
The latest poll numbers released Thursday morning by state officials indicate that more than a quarter (26.7%) of all registered voters in Georgia have already voted in both disputes.
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More than 1.3 million Georgians voted through in-person voting at polling stations opened a week and a half ago, with more than 720,000 voting absent.
With less than two weeks to go in the second round, the high number of Georgians who have already voted in two second rounds in the Senate comes close to rivaling early participation in the November general election at this time. A record 4.9 million voters in the state voted in the general election.
“It looks like there will be quite a high turnout for the second round,” MV Hood, professor of political science at the University of Georgia and director of the school’s research center, told Fox News on Thursday. “People are energized.”
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But Hood added that with the holidays approaching, “turnout is not going to reach the levels of the general election.”
An Election Defender volunteer directs voters to an area where they can obtain hand sanitizer and masks during the early vote for the Senate runoff at a recreation center Thursday, December 17, 2020, in Powder Springs , Georgia. (AP Photo / Todd Kirkland)
The balance of power for the next Senate coming out of last month’s elections is 50 Republicans and 48 Democrats. This means that Democrats must win Georgia’s two qualifiers to make it a 50-50 Senate. If that happens, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will have the casting vote, giving her party a minimal majority in the chamber.
In Georgia, where state law mandates a runoff if no candidate reaches 50% of the vote, Republican Senator David Perdue narrowly failed to avoid a runoff, winning 49.75% of the vote. Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff lost by about 87,000 votes.
In the other race, Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler won nearly 26% of the vote in a colossal special election of 20 candidates to fill the final two years of former Republican Senator Johnny Isakson’s term. Loeffler was appointed by Republican Governor Brian Kemp after Isakson left office for health reasons. His second-round opponent, Democratic candidate Rev. Raphael Warnock, won nearly 33% of the vote in the special election.
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If Democrats win both contests, they will control both the Senate and the House, as well as the White House.
Fox News’ Remy Numa contributed to this report.