Live politics updates: Early in-person voting begin in Georgia runoff election
USA TODAY’s coverage of the 2020 election and President-elect Joe Biden’s transition continues this week as he rolls out more of his picks for top jobs in his administration. With the final vote counts certified, the Electoral College will meet Monday in statehouses across the U.S. where the 538 electors will cast the ballots making Biden’s victory official.
President Donald Trump has cleared the way for Biden’s team to use federal resources and get briefings during the transition, although Trump has yet to formally concede the race and continues to challenge the results.
Be sure to refresh this page often to get the latest information on the election and the transition.
Early voting kicks off in Georgia runoffs for Senate seats
Early voting may sound like a misnomer more than a month after the Nov. 3 election, but Georgia voters begin doing exactly that Monday, the first day they can vote in person in the Jan 5. runoff election to determine the winner of their state’s two seats in the U.S. Senate.
Because none of the four candidates in the two Senate races secured more than 50% of the vote in last month’s contest, Georgia law requires the rematches, which will feature Sen. Kelly Loeffler against Raphael Warnock and Sen. David Perdue against Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff.
The GOP incumbents are favored to hold their seats in the traditionally conservative state, but their victory is far from certain given President-elect Joe Biden’s victory there, the first time a Democrat had won the state since 1992.
Their chances of success are further complicated by President Donald Trump’s baseless claims of widespread fraud. Despite an absence of evidence, Trump and his allies have insisted the election was stolen from him, raising concerns in some Republican circles the allegations could lead GOP supporters to sit out what they think is a rigged process. Pro-Trump attorney L. Lin Wood has openly called on Republicans to boycott the runoff election as a protest against what he sees as a failure of the GOP establishment to aid Trump in his quest to overturn the election results.
Voting by mail is already underway in the runoffs and more than a million Georgians have requested absentee ballots, according to Democratic voting rights activist Stacey Abrams.
– William Cummings
Electoral College to make President-elect Biden official
One of the most contentious and closely watched presidential elections in U.S. history comes one step close to completion as the Electoral College meets Monday.
The 538 electors will gather in each of their respective state houses to cast their ballots for the presidential and vice presidential candidates selected by their state’s voters.
Normally, the event is a formality that draws little attention, but because of President Donald Trump’s persistent efforts to overturn the election result based on unsubstantiated claims of widespread fraud, the electors’ votes will likely draw protesters. The votes have already been certified and no surprises are expected.
Biden is scheduled to give a speech in Wilmington, Delaware, at 8 p.m. EDT on “the electoral college vote certification and the strength and resilience of our democracy,” according to a press release from the transition team.
Official copies of the results of the electors’ vote are due to be sent to Congress by Dec. 23, before the members of the new session formally count them on Jan. 6.
– William Cummings
