Georgia MP Proposes Lower Threshold to Avoid Runoff

A Georgia state legislator has introduced a bill to lower the threshold needed to avoid a repeat election after residents voted in a runoff in 2020 and 2022.

Georgia’s electoral laws currently require a candidate to get 50% plus one vote to win the election outright and avoid a runoff. But a bill proposed this week would lower the threshold to 45%.

“We have too many elections here in Georgia,” Rep. Saira Draper said in an interview with FOX 5 Atlanta.

“Basically, this explains the so-called spoiler candidate — the candidate who gets one or two percent of the vote, who doesn’t represent the value of the people — but again, it prevents any candidate from getting 50 votes. %,” Draper continued.

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A Georgia state legislator has introduced a bill to lower the threshold needed to avoid a repeat election after residents voted in a runoff in 2020 and 2022.

A Georgia state legislator has introduced a bill to lower the threshold needed to avoid a repeat election after residents voted in a runoff in 2020 and 2022.

In the last two US Senate elections in Georgia, a second round of elections was held.

In 2020, Republican David Perdue faced Democrat John Ossoff and Republican Kelly Leffler opposed Democrat Raphael Warnock. Ossoff and Warnock ended up winning their races after the second round two months later.

And in 2022, Warnock contested his Senate seat with Republican Herschel Walker, and Warnock won re-election after a second round.

In both cases, the Libertarian Party candidate received 2% of the vote in the general election, helping Republican and Democratic candidates stay within the 50% threshold.

“We’ve looked at every statewide re-election that has taken place as a result of the general election over the past 15 years, and if that 45 percent threshold had been set then, we wouldn’t have seen any of those re-elections,” Draper said.

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Georgia's electoral laws require a candidate to get 50% plus one vote to win the election outright and avoid a runoff.

Georgia’s electoral laws require a candidate to get 50% plus one vote to win the election outright and avoid a runoff. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

The Georgia runoff draws fewer voters than the general election, and according to researchers at Kennesaw State University, a runoff election for the U.S. Senate after the 2020 general election cost $75 million statewide.

And Draper says that the second round in most cases does not change the outcome of the race. However, one exception is the 2020 election between Purdue and Ossoff. Then Sen. Perdue won the most votes in the general election with 49.7% of the vote, but lost to Ossoff in the runoff election on January 5, 2021.

When asked about how her bill would change the outcome of the election between Purdue and Ossoff, Draper said her proposal would not be in favor of Republicans or Democrats.

“I believe that good politics is not partisan,” Draper said. “That’s good policy.”

She acknowledged that people might oppose the bill because a candidate with only 45% does not represent a majority of voters. Libertarian Chase Oliver, who is running for the Senate in the 2022 election, said in an interview in October that he doesn’t think a candidate should represent the state without even winning a majority.

Legislation proposed this week would lower the threshold needed to prevent a runoff to 45%.

Legislation proposed this week would lower the threshold needed to prevent a runoff to 45%. (AP)

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But Draper counters that argument, noting that fewer people vote in the second round.

“When we have repeat elections, we always see a decline — a huge decline — in participation. So even in the second round you can get a 50 percent threshold, but that’s a lower baseline than those general elections, and I don’t think that necessarily reflects the will of the people,” she said.

The bill went before committee and has no Republican co-sponsors. It’s unclear if the proposal will get a hearing.

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texasstandard.news contributed to this report.

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