What you need to know
Tuesday is election day in Georgia. Voters have a few key races to decide in runoff elections besides settling the Republican showdown for governor. Here’s what you need to know before hitting the polls:When, where to votePolls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. To find your specific polling location, visit www.mvp.sos.ga.gov.If you are registered to vote, it will ask you to type in your first initial, last name, county and date of birth.What to bringFirst-time voters must provide their Social Security numbers and a valid ID, which can include a driver’s license, a passport, a government ID or several other options.If you are not a first-time voter, you still will need to bring a valid ID.
ATLANTA – Move over, Ohio. Make room, Florida and Pennsylvania. Georgia wants in on the swing-state action.
The state’s gubernatorial contest comes into greater focus Tuesday after Republicans choose between Brian Kemp, who is endorsed by President Donald Trump, and Casey Cagle, who is backed by the incumbent GOP governor. The victor in their party runoff will take on Democrat Stacey Abrams in her bid to become the first black woman elected governor in the U.S.
Abrams, a 44-year-old former state House leader, faces significant hurdles in a state that remains deeply conservative outside its metropolitan areas. No Democratic nominee for governor or U.S. Senate has carried the state since 1998. Bill Clinton was the last Democratic presidential candidate to win here – in 1992.
Yet in the last decade, GOP standard-bearers have typically garnered no more than 53 percent of the vote. Some Republicans say that margin isn’t enough as African-Americans, Latinos, Asian-Americans and white transplants become a larger share of the electorate. The themes that likely will dominate the general election campaign for governor, including immigration and race, will help determine whether Democrats can become consistently competitive in the Deep South after years of stinging defeats.