2020–21 Georgia state elections

Last updated
2020–21 Georgia elections
Flag of Georgia (U.S. state).svg
  2018 November 3, 2020 (2020-11-03)
January 5, 2021 (2021-01-05)
2022  

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.

Contents

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

Primary results

Democratic primary results [6]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Robert G. Bryant 926,028 100
Total votes926,028 100

District 1 Republican primary

Primary results

Republican primary results [7]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Jason Shaw (incumbent) 942,043 100
Total votes942,043 100

District 1 General Election

Georgia Public Service Commissioner election, 2020 [8]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Jason Shaw (incumbent) 2,445,181 50.11
Democratic Robert G. Bryant2,255,32546.22
Libertarian Elizabeth Melton179,0113.67
Total votes4,879,517 100
Republican hold

District 4 Democratic primary

Primary results

Democratic primary results [9]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Daniel Blackman 762,740 71.64
Democratic John Noel301,94828.36
Total votes1,064,688 100

District 4 Republican primary

Primary results

Republican primary results [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Lauren “Bubba” McDonald, Jr. (incumbent) 929,919 100
Total votes929,919 100

District 4 General Election

Georgia Public Service Commissioner election, 2020 [11]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Lauren “Bubba” McDonald, Jr. (incumbent) 2,415,248 49.91
Democratic Daniel Blackman 2,272,969 46.97
Libertarian Nathan Wilson151,1963.12
Total votes4,839,413 100

Runoff results

Georgia Public Service Commissioner runoff election, 2021 [12]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Lauren “Bubba” McDonald, Jr. (incumbent) 2,234,689 50.38
Democratic Daniel Blackman2,200,96249.62
Total votes4,435,651 100
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).

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.

Amendment 1
ChoiceVotes %
Yes check.svg Yes3,862,56881.62
No869,54018.38
Total votes4,732,108100.00

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.

Amendment 2
ChoiceVotes %
Yes check.svg Yes3,491,29674.46
No1,197,79225.54
Total votes4,689,088100.00

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.

Referendum A
ChoiceVotes %
Yes check.svg Yes3,451,11673.09
No1,270,73726.91
Total votes4,721,853100.00

See also

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2006 Georgia state elections

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2008 Georgia state elections

Georgia's state elections were held on November 4, 2008. The primary elections were held on February 5, also known as Super Tuesday.

1996 United States Senate election in Georgia

The 1996 United States Senate election in Georgia was held on November 5, 1996. Incumbent Democratic United States Senator Sam Nunn decided to retire instead of seeking a fifth term. The Republican Party nominated Guy Millner, a multi-millionaire businessman who was also the unsuccessful candidate who ran against Zell Miller in the 1994 gubernatorial election. Millner emerged as the victor from a crowded 6-person primary in July 1996. Max Cleland, the Secretary of State of Georgia ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.

2014 Arkansas elections

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2017 United States elections Election in the United States in 2017

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2020 United States Senate elections Part of the U.S. elections held on November 3, 2020

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2020–21 United States Senate election in Georgia Regular United States Senate election in Georgia

The 2020–21 United States Senate election in Georgia was held on November 3, 2020 and on January 5, 2021, to elect the Class II member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Georgia. Democrat Jon Ossoff defeated incumbent Republican Senator David Perdue in the runoff election. The general election was held concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as with other elections to the Senate, elections to the U.S. House of Representatives and various state and local elections.

2018 Georgia state elections

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2017 Georgias 6th congressional district special election

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2018 Georgia House of Representatives election

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2018 Oregon state elections

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2020–21 United States Senate special election in Georgia Special United States Senate election in Georgia

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2020 Ohio elections

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1990 Illinois elections

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2020 Alabama elections

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The 2020 Georgia Public Service Commission election was held on November 3, 2020, to elect two members to the Georgia Public Service Commission, concurrently with the presidential election as well as both a regular and special election to the U.S. Senate and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. While Republican incumbent appointee Jason Shaw defeated Democrat Robert Bryant for District 1, Republican incumbent Lauren "Bubba" McDonald was forced to a runoff against Democrat Daniel Blackman for District 4. While the runoff was initially scheduled for December 3, it was moved by Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to the January 5, 2021 runoff, alongside the runoff elections for both Senate seats.

2022 Georgia state elections

Several elections are planned to take place in the U.S. state of Georgia in 2022. The general election will be held on November 8, 2022, with runoffs to be held at a later date for those races which are not yet decided by majority vote. All of Georgia's executive officers and legislative seats, as well as one seat on the Georgia Public Service Commission, will be up for election as well as one of Georgia's seats in the United States Senate and all of Georgia's seats in the United States House of Representatives.

The Election Integrity Act of 2021, originally known as Georgia Senate Bill 202, is a Georgia law overhauling elections in the state. It requires voter identification requirements on absentee ballots, limits the use of ballot drop boxes, expands early in-person voting, bars officials from sending out unsolicited absentee ballot request forms, reduces the amount of time people have to request an absentee ballot, makes it a crime for outside groups to give free food or water to voters waiting in line, gives the state legislature greater control over election administration, and shortens runoff elections, among other provisions.

References

  1. 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
  2. Michael P. McDonald, "2020 General Election Early Vote Statistics", U.S. Elections Project, retrieved October 10, 2020, Detailed state statistics
  3. "Democrats urge voters in Georgia to fix their absentee ballots before a Friday deadline", New York Times, November 6, 2020
  4. Absentee By Mail Ballot Signature Cure Affidavit Form (PDF), Georgiademocrat.org , retrieved November 6, 2020
  5. "Georgia state executive official elections, 2020". Ballotpedia .
  6. "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election". Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  7. "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election". Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  8. "November 3, 2020 General Election". Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  9. "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election". Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  10. "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election". Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  11. "November 3, 2020 General Election". Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  12. "January 5, 2021 Runoff Election". Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved January 19, 2021.

Further reading