From staff reports
CARNESVILLE – Early voting for the Dec. 6 runoff to pick Georgia’s U.S. Senator will begin Monday.
The runoff election will be between incumbent Democrat U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker.
Early voting for the runoff will be held Nov. 28 through Dec. 2 at the Franklin County Elections and Registration Office at 7850 Royston Road in Carnesville.
Times will be from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Nov. 28, 29, 30 and Dec. 1 and from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. on Dec. 2.
Franklin County will not have Saturday voting for the race.
A Fulton County Superior Court judge ruled Friday that holding early voting on the Saturday after Thanksgiving Day is legal and may proceed.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office indicated shortly after the Nov. 8 election that put incumbent Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker into a runoff that Nov. 26 would be set aside for Saturday early voting.
However, Raffensperger subsequently declared that holding early voting that day would violate a state law that prohibits runoffs on any day immediately following a state holiday.
Besides Thanksgiving Day on Thursday, the following day, Nov. 25, is a state holiday.
Warnock’s campaign sued to force a reversal of Raffensperger’s decision and prevailed in Friday’s ruling.
Franklin County’s interim election supervisor, Tracie Creason, said Monday that the county will not hold Saturday voting.
The U.S. Senate race will be the only one on the ballot for the Dec. 6 runoff.
In the Nov. 8 general election, Warnock received 49.44 percent of the statewide vote for the position, while Walker garnered 48.49 percent. Libertarian Chase Oliver received 2.07 percent.
Because neither Warnock nor Walker got more than 50 percent of the vote, which is required by Georgia law, the race was sent to a runoff.
Any voter who was registered to vote by Nov. 7, whether they voted in the Nov. 8 election or not, may vote in the runoff.