Round Two, Time for a Runoff

More than 3.8 million Georgians cast votes in the Nov. 6 general election for a new secretary of state and more than 3.5 million voted in the race for Public Service Commission District 3.

And neither was settled.

In both cases, the votes garnered by Libertarian candidates denied the Republican or Democrat a majority, forcing the major party candidates into a runoff election on Dec. 4.

All registered voters are eligible to vote in the runoff, regardless of whether they voted in the mid-term. Absentee voters will need to fill out a new ballot. Early voting was scheduled from Nov. 26 to Nov. 30. Minus the draw of the gubernatorial election, turnout for the runoff likely will be a fraction of the mid-term.

The secretary of state’s office reported that 61.4 percent of Georgia’s registered voters cast ballots in the mid-term.

The greatest number of votes cast in any race, more than 3.93 million, was in the gubernatorial election, in which Republican Brian Kemp received 50.22 percent of the vote, against 48.83 percent for Democrat Stacey Abrams, who conceded on Nov. 16.

Neither office at issue in the runoff usually generates public enthusiasm, but both play important roles in the lives of Georgians.

In addition to business licensure and oversight, the secretary of state oversees the state’s elections, a contentious subject in the mid-term election, as Kemp did not step down from that office while running for governor.

Republican Brad Raffensperger received 49.09 percent of the vote, Democrat John Barrow 48.67 percent, and Libertarian Smythe DuVal 2.23 percent. DuVal has endorsed Barrow.

The Public Service Commission regulates what Georgians pay for electricity and natural gas, as well as telecommunications. The most prominent issue before the PSC has been the contraction of two new reactors at the Plant Vogtle nuclear power station in Waynesboro, a project several years behind schedule and billions of dollars above its estimated cost.

The five members of the PSC are elected statewide but each represents a district. District 3 is comprised of Fulton, DeKalb, Clayton and Rockdale counties.

Republican incumbent Chuck Eaton received 49.7 percent of the votes, Democrat Lindy Miller received 47.63 percent, and Libertarian Ryan Graham 2.67 percent. As of Nov. 20, Graham had not endorsed either Eaton or Miller.