It’s been a long time coming, but we’ve finally made it to Election Day 2024.

Today’s most anticipated race is, of course, the presidential contest between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. The pair have spent a combined $25 million in new media ads alone in the past two weeks in this battleground state, according to political analyst and syndicated columnist Bill Crane. 

“I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that this is the most significant presidential election in U.S. history,” said Emory University political scientist Andra Gillespie. 

But beyond the presidential bid is a slew of down-ballot races in Georgia, including all 236 state House and Senate seats. Nearly half of the seats — about 90 —in the Georgia House of Representatives and over 60% of seats — about  34 — in the Georgia Senate are uncontested this year.

There will be a couple of competitive seats along the coast and in the state’s peanut region, but most hot-button state House seats are in metro Atlanta, particularly in the northern part, home to a key bloc of voters: wealthy, educated suburban women, many of whom rallied against changes in abortion legislation.

In addition, there are five Generation Z candidates between the ages of 21 and 27 — three vying for the state House and two for the state Senate — on the ticket. 

With 1,961 contests in Georgia, expect some political intrigue to unfold tonight.

Here are three things to consider as results come in.

Redistricting could prove suspenseful

If election night sees any surprises or upsets, they could occur as a result of the newly redrawn state districts. 

Georgia legislators were ordered last November to redraw their congressional and state legislative maps because they violated parts of the Voting Rights Act and diluted Black voting power. State lawmakers redrew the maps to include several new majority-Black voting districts. Those new maps were approved last December. 

“In light of the federal court ruling, the Legislature tried to draw those lines preserving as many Republican seats as possible while complying with the law,” Gillespie said. “The question is, will their efforts succeed? So, I’d pay attention if there is an upset in one of these state legislative districts.”

Will Republicans hold on to their dominance?

Yes, but they could wind up with fewer seats.

Georgia Democrats will be looking to gain more seats in the House and Senate while Republicans remain focused on maintaining their control of state government. Republicans hold the governor, attorney general and secretary of state seats as well as both legislative chambers. 

The House could be particularly vulnerable: Republicans now hold 102 of the 180 seats, but that could slip, notes University of Georgia political science professor Charles Bullock III. 

“Democrats may get Republicans down under 100 seats [in the House], to 99 or 98,” he told State Affairs.

If that happens, Bullock said, it would be the smallest number of Republicans in the House since the party took control of the chamber 20 years ago.

When will election results be ready?

“If it’s a margin that’s very, very narrow, like it was in 2020, then it’s going to take a longer time for the election to be called one way or another,” Gillespie said. “What people are going to be paying attention to is all the returns coming in and the number of outstanding absentee ballots that would have come in on Tuesday and would be coming from the military and overseas.

“So if there are multiple states with margins of less than 50,000 votes, then, yeah, we’re going to have to settle in for the long run.” 

Secretary of state spokesman Mike Hassinger noted that early and absentee (mail-in) votes must be counted by 8 p.m. Those votes account for over half of the state’s active voters.

Follow election results on the secretary of state’s  website.

Important election times and dates to remember 

• Nov. 5, 7 p.m.: Polls close and deadline for mail-in (absentee) ballots to be returned
• Nov. 25-27: Advance voting for general runoff election
• Dec. 3: General election runoff

Have questions? Contact Tammy Joyner on X @lvjoyner or at [email protected].

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