116
votes
Accepted
What could Trump hope to gain from a *second* Georgia "recount"?
It is highly unlikely that a recount will give Trump a chance to win the election. Recounts just don't move number of votes enough to change an election where Biden had such a raw lead over Trump.
It'...
- 8,973
62
votes
Have Georgia election officials offered an explanation for the alleged "smoking gun" at the State Farm Arena?
While not exactly discussing the video and the the allegation of "suitcases of ballots", the topic of "secret counting" at the State Farm Arena was actually discussed by election ...
- 146k
49
votes
What is the rationale behind making it illegal to hand out water to voters in line in Georgia?
The rationalization stems from similar proclamations across multiple states against voter intimidation or vote-buying. Nobody should have the fact that they're stuck in a line be taken advantage-of by ...
- 17.2k
47
votes
What is the rationale behind making it illegal to hand out water to voters in line in Georgia?
The point is to make voting harder and, therefore, to discourage it. By preventing volunteers from giving out food and water to voters, it makes the wait to vote (which can stretch to hours in some ...
- 25.9k
37
votes
What could Trump hope to gain from a *second* Georgia "recount"?
As @dsollen’s excellent answer says, it seems extremely unlikely that the recount could materially change the election result. That answer suggests another, somewhat cynical, possible motive: to ...
- 1,084
35
votes
Accepted
What is the reason for the date of the Georgia runoff elections for the US Senate?
What is the reason for the date of the Georgia runoff elections for the US Senate?
Law.
Georgia Code Title 21. Elections § 21-2-501
(3) In the case of a runoff from a general election for a federal ...
- 34.4k
28
votes
Accepted
Georgia Secretary of State's power to enforce the 14th amendment of the US constitution re. deny Marjorie Taylor Green's right to run for re-election?
The relevant statute in Georgia is GA Code § 21-2-5 (2020) - it’s a bit long to reproduce here, but the general gist of the law is to first establish that all candidates for election must meet the ...
CDJB♦
- 105k
23
votes
Why was Warnock's election called while Ossoff's wasn't? Aren't they both on the same ballot?
The special election that Warnock ran in and the regular election that Ossoff ran in happened at the same time, and voters voted in each at the same time, but they were separate races.
As of now, the ...
- 1,319
18
votes
What is the rationale behind making it illegal to hand out water to voters in line in Georgia?
What is the rationale behind this restriction?
The rationale given in S.B. 202 is:
(13) The sanctity of the precinct was also brought into sharp focus in 2020, with many groups approaching electors ...
- 34.4k
18
votes
Can I Vote Via Absentee Ballot in the 2022 Georgia Run-Off Election?
Just to add to Rick Smith's answer; no - due to the recent passage of the Election Integrity Act 2021, which reduced the time between a general election and a runoff election from nine weeks to four (...
CDJB♦
- 105k
18
votes
Accepted
Do US Senate election run-offs run ad infinitum?
Run-off elections - in states where they take place - only happen between the top two candidates, where neither of these candidates received over 50% of the vote in the first ballot. In the case of ...
CDJB♦
- 105k
16
votes
What is the rationale behind making it illegal to hand out water to voters in line in Georgia?
Well, to play devil's advocate here, von Spakovsky on the Heritage Foundation site says this:
The polemical taunts are directed toward two of the bill’s provisions, one that extends the state’s ...
- 146k
14
votes
Why was Warnock's election called while Ossoff's wasn't? Aren't they both on the same ballot?
Races are called before all the votes are counted.
If Amy has 10,000 votes, and Bob has 5,000, and there are 1,000 more to count, you can safely say that Amy is the winner. If, on the same ballot, ...
- 2,007
14
votes
Accepted
Why does Georgia not have a hate crime statute?
Georgia passed hate crime legislation in 2000 under Democratic governor Roy Barnes, but it was struck down by the Georgia Supreme Court in 2004:
The Georgia Supreme Court unanimously struck down the ...
- 6,492
13
votes
What could Trump hope to gain from a *second* Georgia "recount"?
There has been some speculation that the goal is simply delay. If legal filings, even when they fail, can somehow delay the certification of the vote in a number of places, then the courts might wind ...
- 251
13
votes
Accepted
Who will be Georgia's senators from January 3rd 2021 until the results of the January 5th runoff elections are known?
The term for Senators is six years. Only about one-third of the seats have terms that expire on January 3 of odd years.
Kelly Loeffler was appointed to a seat previously held by Johnny Isakson. The ...
- 34.4k
12
votes
What could Trump hope to gain from a *second* Georgia "recount"?
One possibility is that he is searching for ammunition to use in a contingent election. If Biden doesn't have 270 electoral college votes by December 8th, the election will be decided by House ...
- 7,593
12
votes
What could Trump hope to gain from a *second* Georgia "recount"?
Besides the (continuing) funding aspect that was covered in the accepted answer, some additional ones that have been raised in the press:
Trump's ego/image. Does not want to be seen as having "...
- 146k
12
votes
What could Trump hope to gain from a *second* Georgia "recount"?
I'm going to disagree with most of the other answers -- there is no grand strategy and Trump knows there is no path to victory.
It's clear at this point none of this is about winning the election, but ...
- 2,193
11
votes
Accepted
Why was Warnock's election called while Ossoff's wasn't? Aren't they both on the same ballot?
Does this mean that a voter voted for Warnock but not Ossoff?
tl;dr: Yes. At least 19K voters did that.
There was a third race on the Georgia runoff ballot, which, in conjunction with the final (yet ...
- 799
10
votes
Accepted
Why is Georgia turning blue rapidly?
538.com published an article two weeks ago when their election forecast showed Georgia as being ever so slightly blue. In their case, it seemed based mainly on a poll by Quinnipiac University that saw ...
- 13.1k
10
votes
Is there evidence that Georgia's law banning third party delivery of snacks and water would likely hurt Democrats in the state?
There is almost never conclusive evidence in the social sciences (and this is a political science question).
The evidence appears to be divided. But there is pretty good evidence that making voting ...
- 603
10
votes
Georgia Secretary of State's power to enforce the 14th amendment of the US constitution re. deny Marjorie Taylor Green's right to run for re-election?
From where does the Georgia Secretary of State derive power to enforce the 14th amendment of the US constitution...?
From the constitution. State and federal officers are sworn to uphold it. There ...
- 17.5k
8
votes
Can I Vote Via Absentee Ballot in the 2022 Georgia Run-Off Election?
Q: Can I register to vote and request an absentee ballot in time for the run-off?
At this point, no.
2022 Scheduled Elections Calendar of Events
November 7, 2022 - Last day for a person to register ...
- 34.4k
7
votes
What is the rationale behind making it illegal to hand out water to voters in line in Georgia?
The idea isn't restriction of voting, but restricting something called electioneering
Each state has some form of restriction on political activities near polling places when voting is taking place.
...
- 46.1k
6
votes
Why is Georgia turning blue rapidly?
This AP article discusses some of the factors involved:
Demographic shifts: growth in areas like Atlanta, which tend to favour Democrats.
A massive voter registration push.
In 2018, under ...
6
votes
Why are there run-off elections in Georgia this year?
It is not related to proportional representation. Most states for every election use first-past-the-post (FPTP).
The Senate has no rules for how Senators are elected, except that it is done by popular ...
- 7,146
6
votes
What could Trump hope to gain from a *second* Georgia "recount"?
Sowing doubt about the election undermines the authority of the new government and compromises trust in the entire political system. Such recounts and absurd lawsuits fuel that doubt, even though they ...
- 9,573
5
votes
Why was Warnock's election called while Ossoff's wasn't? Aren't they both on the same ballot?
Arcanist has the right idea, but gives a race that is 100% certain. Let's consider about where we were yesterday morning.
With about 90,000 votes outstanding, Warnock had a lead of about 50,000 votes, ...
- 46.1k
5
votes
Accepted
If elected, when would Ossoff and Warnock take office?
To assume office, a senator or representative needs a certificate of election signed by the governor.
After voting is completed on January 5, 2021, the county election boards meet to canvass and ...
- 34.4k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible