Raffensperger calls for end to runoff elections

GOP elections chief doesn't propose alternative

More than a week after U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock’s runoff victory over Republican Herschel Walker, Georgia’s top elections official is calling for an end to the runoff election system.

Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Wednesday called upon state lawmakers to do away with the decades-old system, saying that the quick turnaround caused a headache for voters and elections officials.

“Georgia is one of the only states in the country with a general election runoff,” he said in a statement. “We’re also one of the only states that always seems to have a runoff.” He also argued that voters are tired of elections extending into the holiday season.

Supporters of runoffs have long argued that it ensures that the winning candidate is chosen by the majority of voters, while opponents have pointed to the system’s segregationist origins and have noted that they cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars.

Currently, runoffs are required to be held if no candidate earns 50% of the vote in the general election. For many years, runoffs were held nine weeks after the general election. But this year’s runoff was held four weeks after the general, because a 2021 rewrite of state election laws halved the runoff period from nine weeks to four.

The shortened window this year was further complicated by the Thanksgiving holiday. Democrats took the state to court after officials said that they were unable to allow voting on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

For his part, Secretary Raffensperger says that the sprint puts a burden on county election workers, who must finish certifying results from the general election and prepare for a runoff in just four short weeks.

But Raffensperger, who himself was elected in a runoff election in 2018, did not offer any alternatives to the current system.

Some lawmakers have expressed support for ranked-choice voting, when voters are asked to rank the candidates on the ballot in order of their preference. This system is already being used by military and overseas voters.

One Democratic lawmaker says that runoffs should be extended to six weeks to give voters more time for early voting and to ease the stress on election workers.

Others have said that we should just do away with runoffs altogether and adopt a first-past-the-post system, in which the candidate with the most votes would be declared the winner — whether they clear 50% or not. This is the most common system of voting in the United States.

Republican legislative leaders, including Lt. Gov.-elect Burt Jones and incoming House Speaker Jon Burns, have not said whether or not they would support an end or a change to the runoff system. Gov. Brian Kemp also hasn’t weighed in yet.

Expect this to be one of the biggest topics of debate under the Gold Dome when lawmakers convene for their annual 40-day session starting in January.