The Georgia Secretary of State runoff election has arrived, though it is not a runoff between governor candidates Brian Kemp and Stacy Abrams like so many of the United States’ citizens anticipated. Rather, Dec. 4 is the final day to vote on who will be in charge of the state’s votes. While the last election still haunts some voter’s, this is an opportunity for people to vote for someone who will make sure that every vote is counted and every election is held fairly.
After the broken voting machines, closed polling locations, and other unfair voting restrictions, this election will help voters determine what their future elections will look like. In particular, the 2020 presidential election will be one of the major events affected by this election.
However, with every non-presidential election, media coverage and voter turnout are rather slim. According to the nonpartisan Pew Research Center, America’s midterm voting turnout is one of the lowest in all developed nations. Even with all of the voting issues, Georgia’s 2018 midterm elections received a major increase in voters. Political campaigns and advertisements covered all corners of the media.
Early voting has not been as successful as it was during the midterms as many individuals are not aware that there is a runoff taking place. Others may just not be concerned with this election, despite its implications. Nov. 30 was the last day for early voting, which means people will have to vote on Election Day, which might be busy and crowded.
If the past election is any indication of what 2020 might resemble, it is very important that voters take into consideration what happened during these last midterms. There was a lawsuit filed against Kemp by the ACLU, asserting that Kemp was unfairly discarding ballots based on certain state laws. Practices such as these should not be allowed, and have no place in Georgia’s political system. Georgia citizens need someone who will make sure all votes are counted, and that all future elections will be fair and transparent.
