Here I go again back to the polls to vote in Georgia. I have to say this past year was the year of the vote because I participated in 3 elections. First it was the primary in March  where I used the new paper ballot machines and right before the coronavirus really struck. Then another primary in June  where I voted absentee for the first time. Third time was early and in person for the Presidential election in November.  For me this is a lot of voting going on! All kind of candidates to learn about, amendments to get educated on, and various election rules and regulations to keep up with–this all in the midst of a pandemic. And here I am again–wash, rinse, repeat going back to the polls to vote in the runoffs. Can we say I am a little tired! But I know the stakes are high so I push through and do my civic duty.

“Why is there a runoff in Georgia in the first place?”  You might be asking. According to the Georgia election code  a candidate must win a majority of votes (50%+1) to be elected to office. If that doesn’t happen, a runoff election of the top two candidates is held. Additionally, here is a little history   from Voice of America to make things even more spicy. “The runoff system was instituted in 1964 after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a ruling that found Georgia’s election system violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution because votes cast in small rural counties counted more heavily than votes cast in large urban jurisdictions. A 2007 U.S. Interior Department study said Georgia’s runoff system was proposed to “circumvent” the Black voting bloc.”

The results of the runoff will determine which party controls the US Senate. Currently, Republicans hold a 50-48 margin. If they win one of the two seats, they keep control. Democrats need to win both runoff elections to control the Senate because the US Vice President casts a vote in case of a tie; meaning that when Kamala Harris becomes vice president, she will hold that power.

Now, knowing all of this I understand how critical this runoff is to my state and to me as a Black woman. I put up with the numerous phone calls, text messages, mailbox flyers and the endless volume of TV commercials. Did I say the stakes are high? Also, the heat is on! Although the runoff election is today, I opted to vote early a few weeks ago. During that time, among all the voting phone calls I received was one for a free ride to the polls. I was pleasantly surprised and took up the offer only for it to be a major disappointment. The driver never showed up and the second one’s car broke down. So, I went back to old faithful-public transportation!

Asides from that, the actual voting experience was pretty uneventful and I didn’t have too many problems. Except with the audio quality of my headset again. I am beginning to believe this might just be the way it is going to be. One of the poll workers gave me a pair of earbuds and that worked a bit better. But something I found interesting was the format of the ballot had changed in a short amount of time since November.  The difference was at the end when you review your ballot instead of listing all the candidates and then emphasizing the one you selected, this time it just gave your selection only.  This new change allowed me to review my ballot a little faster since I didn’t have to listen to all the other candidates I didn’t select.

As of this writing and posting, I don’t know the outcome of this runoff election. Some say we won’t know by the end of the day, maybe the end of the week. Who knows, there might be multiple recounts like the Presidential election. But regardless I voted because I believe strongly in our democracy and the power of the vote.