2020 Georgia state elections
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Several elections took place in the U.S state of Georgia in 2020. The general election was held on November 3, 2020, and the runoff on January 5, 2021. A combined partisan primary for president and all other offices on the ballot was held on June 9, 2020, with a primary runoff held on August 11.
To vote by mail, registered Georgia voters must have requested a ballot by October 30, 2020.[1] By early October some 1,589,147 voters requested mail ballots.[2] Following the November 3, 2020 general election, voters whose mail-in ballots were rejected could make corrections ("cure") until 5 p.m. on Friday, November 6, 2020.[3][4]
Federal offices
President of the United States
Georgia had 16 electoral votes in the Electoral College. Democrat Joe Biden won all of them with 49.5% of the popular vote. It was the first time a Democratic presidential candidate had won Georgia since Bill Clinton in 1992.
United States House of Representatives
General
Georgia had 14 seats in the United States House of Representatives which were up for election. The Republicans won 8 while the Democrats won 6. Democrats gained one seat, the 7th district.
Special
A special election was held for the 5th district due to the death of the incumbent John Lewis. The first round was held on September 29 and the runoff was held on December 1. Democrat Kwanza Hall won the seat.
United States Senate
General
Incumbent Republican David Perdue, first elected in 2014, lost his reelection bid to challenger Jon Ossoff. Perdue won the first round with 49.73% of the vote, but in the runoff election lost to Ossoff's 50.57% vote share.
Special
Following the resignation of Senator Johny Isakson in 2019, Governor Brian Kemp appointed Kelly Loeffler to serve out the term. Republican senator Loeffler then went on to come second in the first round with 25.9% of the vote while Democratic pastor Raphael Warnock won with 32.9%. Warnock went on to win in the runoff with 51.04% of the vote, becoming the first black senator to represent Georgia.
Public Service Commission
Elections were held for Public Service Commission districts 1 and 4.[5]
District 1 Democratic primary
- Robert G. Bryant
Primary results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Robert G. Bryant | 926,028 | 100 | |
| Total votes | 926,028 | 100 | ||
District 1 Republican primary
- Jason Shaw, incumbent
Primary results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jason Shaw (incumbent) | 942,043 | 100 | |
| Total votes | 942,043 | 100 | ||
District 1 General Election
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jason Shaw (incumbent) | 2,445,181 | 50.11 | |
| Democratic | Robert G. Bryant | 2,255,325 | 46.22 | |
| Libertarian | Elizabeth Melton | 179,011 | 3.67 | |
| Total votes | 4,879,517 | 100 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
District 4 Democratic primary
- Daniel Blackman
- John Noel
Primary results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Daniel Blackman | 762,740 | 71.64 | |
| Democratic | John Noel | 301,948 | 28.36 | |
| Total votes | 1,064,688 | 100 | ||
District 4 Republican primary
- Lauren “Bubba” McDonald, Jr., incumbent
Primary results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Lauren “Bubba” McDonald, Jr. (incumbent) | 929,919 | 100 | |
| Total votes | 929,919 | 100 | ||
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 First round county results First round precinct results Runoff county results Runoff precinct resultsMcDonald: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Blackman: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Tie: 40–50% | ||||||||||||||||
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| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Lauren “Bubba” McDonald, Jr. (incumbent) | 2,415,248 | 49.91 | |
| Democratic | Daniel Blackman | 2,272,969 | 46.97 | |
| Libertarian | Nathan Wilson | 151,196 | 3.12 | |
| Total votes | 4,839,413 | 100 | ||
Runoff results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Lauren “Bubba” McDonald, Jr. (incumbent) | 2,234,689 | 50.38 | ||
| Democratic | Daniel Blackman | 2,200,962 | 49.62 | ||
| Total votes | 4,435,651 | 100 | |||
| Republican hold | |||||
General Assembly
State senate
All 56 seats in the Georgia State Senate were up for election in 2020. The Republicans won 34 seats and the Democrats won 22 seats.
State House
All 180 seats in the Georgia House of Representatives were up for election in 2020. The Republicans won 103 seats and the Democrats won 77 seats.
District Attorneys
Out of the state's 49 judicial circuits, 40 held elections for district attorney, and 15 incumbents were replaced either by primary or general election. In addition, a special election for the Western Judicial Circuit saw the appointed incumbent Democrat defeated in the first round, with Deborah Gonzalez winning the second round against James Chafin (independent).
- Augusta: Natalie Paine (R) was defeated by Jared Williams (D)
- Brunswick: Jackie Johnson (R) was defeated by Keith Higgins (independent)
- Chatham: Meg Heap (R) was defeated by Shelena Cook Jones (D)
- Chattahoochee: Julia Slater (D) was defeated in the Democratic primary by Mark Jones (D), who had no general challenger
- Cobb: Joyette Holmes (R) was defeated by Flynn Broady (D)
- Fulton: Paul Howard (D) was defeated in the Democratic primary runoff by Fani Willis (D), who had no general challenger
- Gwinnett: Danny Porter (R) was defeated by Patsy Austin-Gatson (D)
- Macon: David Cooke (D) was defeated in the Democratic primary by Anita Reynolds Howard (D), who had no general challenger
Ballot measures
Amendment 1
"Allow Tax Revenue Dedication"
Authorizes the Georgia State Legislature to pass legislation establishing special funds with dedicated revenue sources to fund statute specific projects.
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
 Yes | 3,862,568 | 81.62 |
| No | 869,540 | 18.38 |
| Total votes | 4,732,108 | 100.00 |
Amendment 2
"Waive Sovereign Immunity"
Waives the state's sovereign immunity, allowing residents to seek relief through the superior courts from state or local laws that are found to violate the U.S. Constitution, state Constitution, or state law.
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 3,491,296 | 74.46 |
| No | 1,197,792 | 25.54 |
| Total votes | 4,689,088 | 100.00 |
Referendum A
"Extend Charity Tax Exemption"
Exempts property taxes for property owned by a 501(c)(3) public charity as long as the property is owned exclusively for the purpose of building or repairing single-family homes and the charity provides interest-free financing to the purchaser of the home.
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 3,451,116 | 73.09 |
| No | 1,270,737 | 26.91 |
| Total votes | 4,721,853 | 100.00 |
See also
Georgia (U.S. State) portal
- Voter suppression in the United States 2019–2020: Georgia
- Elections in Georgia (U.S. state)
References
- ^ Lily Hay Newman (August 27, 2020), "How to Vote by Mail and Make Sure It Counts", Wired.com, archived from the original on October 6, 2020
- ^ Michael P. McDonald, "2020 General Election Early Vote Statistics", U.S. Elections Project, retrieved October 10, 2020,
Detailed state statistics
- ^ "Democrats urge voters in Georgia to fix their absentee ballots before a Friday deadline", New York Times, November 6, 2020
- ^ Absentee By Mail Ballot Signature Cure Affidavit Form (PDF), Georgiademocrat.org, retrieved November 6, 2020
- ^ "Georgia state executive official elections, 2020". Ballotpedia.
- ^ "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election". Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
- ^ "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election". Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
- ^ "November 3, 2020 General Election". Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
- ^ "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election". Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
- ^ "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election". Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
- ^ "November 3, 2020 General Election". Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
- ^ "January 5, 2021 Runoff Election". Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
Further reading
- "Georgia likely removed nearly 200k from voter rolls wrongfully, report says", Cnn.com, September 2, 2020
- Sue Halpern (September 11, 2020), "Georgia Voters Get Another Reason to Be Worried", Newyorker.com
- David Weigel; Lauren Tierney (September 22, 2020), "The 50 political states of America", Washingtonpost.com, archived from the original on October 11, 2020,
Georgia
- Associated Press (October 12, 2020), Technical problems arise as early voting starts in Georgia
- Paulina Firozi (October 15, 2020), "Overloaded voter check-in system partly blamed for long early voting lines in Georgia", Washington Post
- Jeremy Hobson; Serena McMahon (October 16, 2020), "Two Georgia Voters Who Waited For Hours To Vote Early Describe The Process", Wbur.org, Massachusetts
External links
- "Georgia 2020 Purge List", SaveMyVote2020.org, Los Angeles, CA: Palast Investigative Fund,
Check if you have been purged from the Georgia voter rolls
- "League of Women Voters of Georgia". (State affiliate of the U.S. League of Women Voters)
- Elections Archived November 12, 2008, at the Wayback Machine at the Georgia Secretary of State official website
- Georgia at Ballotpedia
- Government Documents Round Table of the American Library Association, "Georgia", Voting & Elections Toolkits
- "Georgia: Election Tools, Deadlines, Dates, Rules, and Links", Vote.org, Oakland, CA
- Georgia 2019 & 2020 Elections, OpenSecrets
- "Election Guides: Georgia", Spreadthevote.org, archived from the original on October 4, 2020, retrieved October 7, 2020. (Guidance to help voters get to the polls; addresses transport, childcare, work, information challenges)
- "Voting in Georgia", Voting Information by State, Rock the Vote. ("Deadlines, dates, requirements, registration options and information on how to vote in your state")
