Over 2.3 Million People Have Voted in Georgia Senate Runoffs

Gabriel Sterling, voting systems manager for the Georgia Secretary of State's office, answers questions during a press conference on the status of ballot counting in Atlanta, Ga., on Nov. 6, 2020. (Jessica McGowan/Getty Images)

Over 2.3 million people have cast votes in the U.S. Senate runoff elections in Georgia, an elections official said Tuesday.

About 800,000 cast ballots by mail and 1.5 million voted in person, Gabriel Sterling with Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office said during an appearance on Newsmax.

Overall, 2.337 million Georgians have cast votes, Sterling said.

Another 500,000 absentee ballots, or mail ballots, were requested and have not been returned yet.

Sterling urged people to vote by mail or during early voting, noting that ice storms can strike in the state in January.

“I’m here tonight to encourage everybody to take advantage of the early voting in-person, or the absentee if you’re doing that,” he said.

According to Georgia Votes, an election project that draws from state figures, more than 2.5 million people have voted. Most are 50 or older.

Left: Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Rev. Raphael Warnock speaks during an Election Night Event in Atlanta, Ga., on Nov. 3, 2020.
Right: U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) speaks to the crowd of supporters during a "Defend the Majority" rally at the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agriculture Center in Perry, Ga., on Nov. 19, 2020. (Jessica McGowan/Getty Images)

In the runoffs, Democrat Raphael Warnock, a pastor, is challenging Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.), who was appointed to the seat after the retirement last year of Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.). The winner will serve two years in Congress.

Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.), meanwhile, is facing filmmaker Jon Ossoff, who lost a 2018 bid for the House of Representatives.

The races have heightened significance because of the composition of the Senate in next year’s Congress. Right now, it’s 50 Republicans and 48 Democrats.

If Republicans win one of the Georgia races, they maintain control of the Senate. Democrats would need to win both races and the White House to flip the body. Tiebreaking votes can be cast by the vice president, who serves as president of the Senate.

“It’s going to come down to every last voter, and this is blowing away every record we’ve ever had for a runoff election,” Sterling said. The previous record was 1.5 million.