Raffensperger became a national name after defending Georgia's 2020 election, which Democratic President Joe Biden narrowly won, and rejecting Donald Trump's plea to “find” more Republican votes. Raffensperger is also a pariah among Republicans, who continue to peddle Trump's phony assertions that Georgia's 2020 elections were rigged and that Trump won. These activists are lobbying Republican Georgia lawmakers up for reelection.
Friday, senators also passed Senate Bill 355, limiting ranked-choice voting beyond Georgia's usage of ballots mailed to troops and other citizens abroad.
The technique has voters rate their selections. Lower-finishing candidates are removed and their votes given to the survivors until a majority is reached.
Opponents claim the practice should be banned because voters would be confused, results will be delayed, and single-candidate voters will likely have their vote dismissed. Sponsoring Republican Sen. Randy Robertson of Cataula called it an electoral manipulation plan.
Rank-choice voting, in many cases, is to cause confusion,” Robertson said, “eliminate third parties, to make those of us who may be considered radical, outspoken, nonconformist, to fall in line.”
Others argue ranked-choice voting might help Georgia avoid runoff elections, which are necessary when a candidate doesn't win a majority. They argue runoffs have fewer turnouts and are disliked by voters.
“Because there's more participation, it's more democratic and can elect candidates that better reflect the broad majority and middle of the electorate,” said Atlanta Democrat Sen. Elena Parent.
Parent said the initiative is meaningless because Georgia only allows ranked-choice voting on foreign ballots. “This bill has no point,” she remarked. There is no monster beneath the bed in ranked-choice voting.
Ranking-choice voting has been prohibited in Florida, Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, and Tennessee, and some national conservative groups want it out of more states.
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