Georgia elections leader wants state lawmakers to end general election runoffs

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is now asking state lawmakers to eliminate general runoff elections.

This comes on the heels of the most recent Senate seat runoff last week between Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker.

Raffensperger said Georgia is one of the few states with a general election runoff, and he believes it should be ended.

“Georgia is one of the only states in country with a general election runoff,” Raffensperger said in a statement released Wednesday morning. “We’re also one of the only states that always seems to have a runoff. I’m calling on the General Assembly to visit the topic of the general election runoff and consider reforms.”

The only other state that has general election runoffs is Louisiana.

Georgia’s General Assembly convenes in January.

“No one wants to be dealing with politics in the middle of their family holiday,” Raffensperger lamented. “It’s even tougher on the counties who had a difficult time completing all of their deadlines, an election audit and executing a runoff in a four-week time period.”

Right now in Georgia, a candidate must receive more than 50% of the vote in the general election to be declared the winner.

If no candidate reaches a majority, then the top two vote-getters go to a run-off, which must be held four weeks later.