Southern swing: Georgia a toss-up this election year

STATE STATS

Voter makeup: As of October, Georgia has just over 8.2 million registered voters, 7 million of whom are active and typically vote. The state does not register voters by party, though they must declare a party to vote in the primaries. The Peach State will likely be a toss-up in this year’s presidential election. In 2020, President Joe Biden secured a narrow victory after roughly 30 years of Republican presidential wins.

Voting: Voters must register at least 30 days before an election. Same-day registration is not allowed. The State Election Board passed an emergency measure during the pandemic to allow no-excuse absentee voting. Citizens may track their ballots online after mailing or submitting them to elections offices or drop boxes. A controversial new state law added a photo ID requirement in 2021.

More election changes passed by the state board are currently in the court. The majority-Republican board passed three new rules in September to mandate hand counts in every county, give county officials the option to conduct “reasonable inquiry” into vote results, and allow county officials to review all election-related documentation. A judge tossed out the hand count requirement but it is likely to be appealed.

The first two days of early voting in Georgia in October surpassed state records compared to the same days in 2020, which was previously the record turnout year.

PRESIDENTIAL

Both parties held presidential primaries on March 12. President Joe Biden won the state’s 16 Electoral College votes by fewer than 12,000 votes in 2020’s competitive primary. In this year’s primary elections, Biden won 95.2 percent of the Democratic votes. After Biden ended his campaign, all 123 Georgia delegates at the Democratic National Convention supported Vice President Kamala Harris.

In the Republican primary, former President Donald Trump garnered 84.5 percent, coming out to 497,130 votes. Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley won 13.2 percent of the vote. She suspended her campaign on March 6 and announced last week that she plans to vote for Trump. In 2016, Trump won the state primary 502,994 votes, which was just 38 percent of the total in a competitive year. Statewide, there was a 65 percent decrease in voter turnout in this year’s primaries compared to 2020.

U.S. HOUSE

Republicans hold nine of Georgia’s 14 U.S. House seats, after flipping one Democratic congressional district in 2022. The districts themselves are subject to redistricting battles this year.

Late last year, a federal judge ordered the General Assembly to create a new, majority-black district in the state to reflect shifting populations. The Republican-led legislature complied but did so in a way that would likely preserve their majority. The new 6th Congressional District covers most of western Atlanta, which contains much of the state’s black population and leans Democratic. But the new lines made the 7th District more Republican. Opponents argued that the lawmakers created a new district by diluting the minority vote in other districts, but the judge ruled that the new maps complied with his order, which only focused on black voters.

JUDICIAL ELECTIONS

The terms of four state Supreme Court justices expire this year, and three of the justices are running unopposed for reelection. The fourth incumbent, Andrew Pinson, defeated a former Democratic congressman for his seat in the May 21 election. The nine justices serve staggered six-year terms. Gov. Brian Kemp appointed Pinson in 2022 to fill a vacancy. The seats are nonpartisan, but the court leans strongly conservative, with eight justices appointed by Republican governors.

The court mostly decides criminal appeals that do not gain much attention. But former President Donald Trump faces criminal charges in Fulton County over alleged election interference in 2020. An appeals court is wading through motions to dismiss either the entire case or lead prosecutor Fani Willis. Those arguments could land before the state Supreme Court.

BALLOT MEASURES

The state legislature referred two constitutional amendments and one state statute—all of which involve taxes—to ballots this year. One amendment would create the Georgia Tax Court under the judicial branch. This would replace the current Tax Tribunal, which falls under the governor’s office. The Tax Court would have broader authority. The Local Option Homestead Property Tax Exemption Amendment would provide a $2,000 exemption for homesteads across the state. Current law allows counties to create these exemptions, but the constitutional amendment would standardize them. The state statute, if passed, would exempt any properties assessed at less than $20,000 from personal property taxes.

Dig deeper:

• In Vitals, Leah Savas explains Georgia’s pro-life laws.

• Read my report on litigation over election laws in several battleground states, including Georgia.

• In The Sift, Lauren Canterberry reports on the latest developments in Trump’s election interference case in Georgia.

• Lindsay Mast interviews black supporters for Trump in Atlanta. Listen on The World and Everything in It.

• Read my on-the-ground coverage of the Trump-Biden debate in Georgia that changed the trajectory of the presidential election.

• Read Josh Schumacher’s report in The Sift about a school voucher program Gov. Brian Kemp signed this year.

• In The Stew, I cover election security efforts in Georgia that attempt to clean up voter rolls.

• Also in The Sift, Christina Grube writes on how Kemp has blamed the Biden administration’s border policies for the death of a Georgia college student.

• Clara York outlines developments in Trump’s criminal trial in Georgia and four co-defendants who accepted plea deals.

Visit the WORLD Election Center 2024 to follow our state-by-state coverage between now and November.