GA Senate Election Live Results: Perdue, Warnock Hold Slim Leads

Updated at 9:29 p.m.

GEORGIA — An early start to scanning ballots has statewide results coming in faster than normal in Tuesday's Georgia Senate runoff elections. The top election official said the state will allow counting of votes until 2 a.m.; early ballots have been opened and verified, now they're being tallied and show the parties splitting the leads in the race at this point.

National attention is focused on Georgia voters as they choose the U.S. Senate candidates they want to represent the state. (See real-time results from the Georgia Secretary of State's office at the bottom of this story.)

The winners of the two Senate races will determine which political party controls the U.S. Senate, which has national implications for coronavirus response, stimulus packages, the Supreme Court and other issues. Republicans David Perdue and Sen. Kelly Loeffler, who was appointed by Gov. Brian Kemp, face Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, respectively.

At 9:29 p.m. with about 55 percent of votes counted statewide, the unofficial results showed Ossoff with 49.95 percent of the vote to 50.05 percent for Perdue. In the other Senate race, Warnock leads with 50.33 percent to 49.67 percent for Loeffler. Early estimates show that nearly half of the more than 4 million votes cast in the election have been counted as of 9 p.m.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said on WSB Tuesday night that counties started scanning ballots a week and a day earlier than the previous election to speed up the count. But it will likely be sometime Wednesday before all votes are counted.

"They've been keeping up with scanning. That's why we're seeing these results much quicker than the November election," Raffensperger said. "Everything is going great from the counting perspective. It takes time with an absentee ballot to get the tabulations done.

"Any ballots that were received today, the absentee ballots, we first have to verify signatures, separate envelopes, and then start the scanning process. We'll try and get those results out as soon as we can. The sooner we can, I know it's better for Georgians and the entire country to get a good night's sleep, but it'll probably be tomorrow some time."

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp spoke at the Georgia Republican watch party Tuesday night, saying "it's been great fighting for David Perdue."

Kemp also praised Loeffler, whom he appointed in late 2019 to fill former Sen. Johnny Isakson's unfinished term, which will expire in 2022.

"They've made a great team up in Washington over these last many months," Kemp said Tuesday night. "I am grateful for how hard they've fought for our state and to save our country, to be the red wall to stop socialism."

The Georgia Democratic candidates are not hosting a watch party, instead choosing to watch results come in at home or at their offices.

Warnock spoke earlier Tuesday emphasizing how important this election is.

"Democracy is not something you can outsource two other people, you have to participate," he said. "Georgia is at the center of a national conversation. We literally have the power in our hands to swing open the door to opportunity, COVID-19 relief, affordable healthcare, livable wages. It’s time for everybody to stand up."

About 6 in 10 Georgia voters said that control of the Senate was the single most important factor in their choice, an Associated Press survey said. However, Republican backers were more likely to prioritize holding a Senate majority than Democratic supporters.

Democrats appear to have had better luck spreading their get-out-the vote message, the survey said. About 6 in 10 Georgia voters said they were contacted on behalf of the Democratic candidates ahead of the election, compared to roughly half who were reached on behalf of the Republicans.

Raffensperger told CNN Tuesday afternoon that "it will be sometime tomorrow" before statewide votes are tallied.

In Atlanta, Henry Dave Chambliss, 67, voted for the two Republicans. He said he wanted the GOP to keep Senate control to ensure the incoming Biden administration doesn’t slide “all the way to the left."

“I’m moderately successful and I know they will come after more of my money, which I’ve earned,” Chambliss told the AP. “I was born a Southern Democrat, and I just hope and pray that some moderate voices are heard and things stay more in the middle of the road.”

Election Day for the Georgia Senate runoffs progressed with few issues and with wait times of 20 minutes or less in many counties.

Gabriel Sterling with the Georgia secretary of state’s office said there were minimal wait times statewide, although lines of around an hour built up in Republican-leaning Houston, Cherokee, Paulding and Forsyth counties.

In Cobb County, a judge ordered the Powder Springs 1A precinct to remain open until 7:10 p.m. Tuesday because the precinct did not start voting until about 7:10 a.m., according to a news release from Cobb County. There was an issue getting the machines up and running on time.

In Cherokee County, the Woodstock City Church precinct and Allen Temple AME Church precinct have extended voting hours by 20 minutes and 15 minutes, respectively. During regular voting hours, each precinct reported a suspicious package and voters were not allowed in the parking lot. Authorities cleared the area and determined that the packages did not pose any danger.

The Woodstock City Church precinct closed at 7:20 p.m., and the Allen Temple AME Church precinct closed at 7:15 p.m.

There was one reported issue with a ballot scanner on Tuesday, which occurred in Columbia County, just outside of Augusta, and Raffensperger said was resolved by 10 a.m.

He said a small number of the keys that start up the paper-ballot scanners were programmed incorrectly. Additionally, some poll worker cards were programmed incorrectly, meaning some poll workers were unable to start the touch screen voting machines used for paper-ballot voting, his office said. The correct keys and voter cards were delivered to the relevant precincts with a law enforcement escort.

"At no point did voting stop as voters continued casting ballots on emergency ballots, in accordance with the procedures set out by Georgia law," Raffensperger said in the press release.

Democrat Ossoff recalled the legacy of voting rights advocates as he urged Georgians to cast their ballot. His opponent, Republican Perdue, whose Senate term expired Sunday, called the 33-year-old a pawn of big technology companies.

Ossoff spoke to a crowd of voters Tuesday morning, and said this runoff is the culmination of years of work and struggle.

"A decade of organizing, much of this work led by Stacey Abrams, to register voters, mobilize communities, empower the people to participate," he said. "But decades of work. The legacy of heroes like John Lewis, Hosea Williams, Amelia Boynton, the hundreds who crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama in 1965 to demand voting rights for Black Americans. John Lewis had his skull fractured marching in Selma that day. Many bled to secure the right of all Americans to vote.

"It's so we can have moments like this one. So that all people can demand the kind change at a time of need a moment of crisis, when people need economic relief, health system urgently needs supports, when we have an urgent need to expand civil rights legislation in this country. That is the tradition of John Lewis, civil rights activists, and expansion of voting rights and equal justice for all that Georgia Democrats are carrying forward right now."

Meanwhile, Perdue said what Americans and Georgians want are people who work for them.

"This young man, [Jon Ossoff], wants to tell people he works for them when most of his money comes from big tech out in California," Perdue said. "You better bet he’s going to be in their deep pocket as we try to turn around and hold big tech accountable for their vagaries over the last 10 years. My plea to the people of Georgia is don't get confused by all the nonsense. This is the American dream and what I want for my grandkids. If the Democrats get control, they will not have that opporutnity and that's what I wish in this election."

As of Monday evening, 3,041,581 Georgians had voted early in the runoff election; a total of 4,018,725 people voted early in the 2020 general election, according to GeorgiaVotes.com. Given the unprecedented turnout for a runoff election, the races might not be called on Tuesday night.

Both parties spent millions of dollars to turn out voters. One Democratic canvassing group that knocked on doors to get voters to the polls targeted Asian-American and Pacific Islanders in Johns Creek.

"A lot of people think that Jan. 5 is the day to get out and vote, but really it's the last day to get out and vote," Bedansh Pandey, a 16-year-old canvasser, told Patch. "It's the final stretch and we want to make sure that we finish strong. The polls have been good for Democrats so far, but we want to keep it that way."

Avi Dhyani, a 15-year-old canvasser, said this election is not just one vote — this vote will determine the next two years in our country's government.

"This vote is going to dictate for the next two years if we're going to have a government for the people, or a government that works to stall the people's agenda," Dhyani said. "We, as Americans, have to fix this. This is the greatest economy and country in the world, so we really need to give back to the people."

Polling continues to show both races virtually deadlocked. A Fox 5/Insider Advantage poll released on Monday put both Ossoff vs. Perdue and Warnock vs. Loeffler tied at 49 percent for each candidate, according to Real Clear Politics.

Political leaders and pundits said the fallout from Saturday's phone call by President Donald Trump — as he urged Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to "find" votes to overturn the Nov. 3 results — could keep Republicans from voting. Both Trump and President-elect Joe Biden campaigned in the state Monday in a last push to get their party's Senate candidates elected.

"There's no one in America with more power to make that happen than you, the citizens of Atlanta, the citizens of Georgia," Biden said. "If you send Jon [Ossoff] and the Reverend [Raphael Warnock] to Washington, those $2,000 checks will go out the door, restoring hope and decency and honor for so many people who are struggling right now."

Trump, who reiterated his belief he won the election and blasted Gov. Brian Kemp for not throwing out the results, told voters they must swarm polling places on Tuesday.

"Our mission here in Georgia is to make sure the radical left doesn’t rob you of your voice," Trump said at a Monday night rally in Dalton. "The Democrats are trying to steal the White House. You can’t let them steal the U.S. Senate.”

Republicans need to win just one of the two seats on the ballot to keep control of the Senate. Democrats need to win both for a 50-50 split that would make Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, who will preside over the Senate, the tie-breaking vote.

SEE ALSO:

• 'A New Day For Georgia': Biden Pushes For GA Senate Democrats

• Trump, Loeffler Rally Ahead Of Crucial GA Senate Election

During a Monday rally, Biden urged voters to choose Ossoff and Warnock over Republicans Perdue and Loeffler.

"This is not an exaggeration: Georgia, the whole nation is looking at you. The power is literally in your hands," Biden said. "Unlike any time in my career, one state can chart the course not just the next four years but the next generation. You can make an immediate difference in your own life and the lives of people across this country."

Biden mentioned the ongoing stimulus check debate between Trump and Congress, saying Ossoff and Warnock would "put an end to the block in Washington" and help get $2,000 stimulus checks approved rather than the $600 payments in the works.

Return to Patch for the latest vote tally. Subscribe to free News Alerts for election results.

Election Day Voting

On election day, you must vote at your designated polling place. You can find your assigned polling location on your voter registration card, by logging into the secretary of state's My Voter Page, or by contacting your County Board of Registrar's Office.

When you get to your polling place, show your photo ID to the poll worker. A poll worker will check your photo ID, verify that you are registered and at the correct polling location, issue you a voter access card or ballot, whichever is applicable, and allow you to vote. Learn how to vote at polling places in Georgia.

Absentee ballots must be received by the Department of Registration and Elections by 7 p.m. on election day. Residents can return their absentee ballot by mail or in one of the Fulton County Absentee Ballot Drop Boxes. Absentee ballots cannot be returned to voters' polling place.

For more information, visit mvp.sos.ga.

When Will The Winners Be Announced?

Ballot counting begins once the polls close at 7 p.m. ET on election day. Absentee ballots must be received by the close of polls to be counted. Military and overseas ballots postmarked by Tuesday and received by Friday will be counted, and absentee voters also have until Friday to fix any problems so their votes can be counted.

No ballots, including absentee ballots received in advance of election day, can be counted until the polls close. But a state election board rule requires county election officials to begin processing absentee ballots — verifying signatures on the outer envelope, opening the envelopes and scanning the ballots — before election day.

Just like in November, it's very possible Georgians will go to bed without knowing who won. All indicators point to the likelihood of very tight margins in both races. Media organizations, including The Associated Press, often declare winners on election night based on the results that are in, voter surveys and other political data.

But in a close race, more of the vote may need to be counted before the AP can call a winner.

In a close contest, look for the Republican candidate to jump out to an early lead because Republican areas of the state usually report their results first and GOP voters have been more likely to vote in person, either on election day or during the early voting period. Many counties release those in-person results first.

Meanwhile, heavily Democratic counties, including Fulton, DeKalb and Chatham counties, historically take longer to count votes. Democratic candidates could also make late surges because of late-counted mail ballots, which heavily favored Ossoff and Warnock, as well as Joe Biden, in November.

Under Georgia law, if the margin separating the candidates is within 0.5 percent, the losing candidate has the right to ask for a recount. That would be done by running the ballots through the scanners again.

Election Fraud Allegations Rebutted

Gabriel Sterling, the voting systems administrator for the Georgia Secretary of State's Office, held a news conference Monday afternoon in which he urged Georgians of every political persuasion and party to vote in Tuesday's Senate runoffs.

“The secretary of state wants me to make clear that everybody’s vote is going to count, everybody's vote did count,” Sterling said Monday. “We are specifically asking you and telling you, please turn out and vote tomorrow.”

People told him the presidential election was stolen, and he reiterated it wasn’t. But any Georgian who believes there were flaws should turn out to vote Tuesday and make it harder to steal the election, Sterling said.

“There are people who fought and died and marched and prayed and voted to get the right to vote,” the Republican election official said.

This story includes reporting from the Associated Press, and Patch Editors Kathleen Sturgeon and Kara McIntyre

This article originally appeared on the Across Georgia Patch