Raffensperger Calls On Georgia Lawmakers To Eliminate General Election Runoffs

By T.A. DeFeo | The Center Square contributor, The Center Square Georgia

December 18, 2022

(The Center Square) – Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger wants state lawmakers to relegate general election runoffs to the history books.

"Georgia is one of the only states in [the] country with a General Election Runoff," Raffensperger, a Republican, said in a Wednesday press release. "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."

"No one wants to be dealing with politics in the middle of their family holiday," Raffensperger added. "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."

A Raffensperger spokesman told The Center Square that "the secretary of state does not have a preference for what change lawmakers should consider, whether it’s pivoting to ranked choice voting or another format."

"During this year’s midterms, some counties had as many as 19 days of early voting in the general election," Raffensperger’s office said. His spokesman could not say how much this year’s runoff cost taxpayers.

Lawmakers will likely revisit elections when the Legislature reconvenes under the Gold Dome next month. Last week, state Rep. Jasmine Clark, D-Lilburn, said she plans to file legislation to increase the time between a general election and a runoff to six weeks.

"Whatever you think about how we should deal with runoffs, there’s no denying that the reason Republicans are talking about ending them only now is that they’re starting to lose more of them — they’re the ones who shortened the runoff timeline and made it more miserable," state Rep. Josh McLaurin, D-Sandy Springs, who is heading to the state Senate, said in a tweet.

A Raffensperger spokesman previously told The Center Square that "the office supports a conversation about the future of runoffs during the next legislative session." On Wednesday, a spokesman for Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, told The Center Square that "the governor does not comment on potential or pending legislation."

Pros and Cons of Ranked Choice Voting

Several states, including Alaska, employ ranked choice voting.

Timothy Rich, a political science professor at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky, told The Center Square "benefits of ranked choice voting include encouraging more diverse candidates across the electoral spectrum. It also eliminates wasted votes, so if a voter’s first choice doesn’t win, their second or third choice can."

"Cons of the system include requiring voters to know more about the candidates and to have clear preferences," Rich said. Ranked choice voting may encourage similarly minded candidates to run, hoping to increase the likelihood that they or a co-partisan is elected.

"Pre-election surveys can tell you little about the expected results unless there's a majority winner," Rich said. "Likewise, ranked choice voting makes it hard to predict, which could lead to confusion among voters and parties."

Additionally, Rich said the system should encourage voters to know more about the candidates.

Meanwhile, Terrell Finner, a former New York City Council candidate, offered similar pros and cons of ranked choice voting.

"You get to select more than one candidate in a race which means you as a voter can vote for your top favorites/multiple candidates in one race," Finner said of the pros. "Ranked Choice Voting is usually triggered if no candidate earns 50%. Therefore in a race with numerous candidates we can truly select the most popular opponent."

Finner noted there is also evidence that localities with this style of voting have "more diversity in their electorate and more civility throughout their campaigns."

Conversely, "methodology for Ranked Choice Voting is rather convoluted and takes rounds of counting to determine the winner," Finner said of the cons. "From the voter’s perspective, ranked choice voting ballots can be lengthy and the balloting process confusing. With elections under such scrutiny and with American confidence in our voting process waning, ranked choice voting could be misconstrued by those who seek to see doubt in our electoral process, as evidence that our votes are being manipulated — which is simply not true."

Additionally, Finner noted that "candidates and voters might not know who won a close race for days after the election."

The focus of the work of The Center Square Georgia is state and local-level government and economic reporting that approaches stories with a taxpayer sensibility.