Voter Registration Numbers Surge In 6th District
Poll worker Delores Peterson hands a sticker to a voter after they casted their ballot in Georgia’s primary election at a polling site Tuesday, March 1, 2016, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
David Goldman / Associated Press
More than 5,000 people have registered to vote in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District in the last 19 days.
Earlier this month, on May 4, a federal judge order the state to reopen voter registration for the runoff between Republican candidate Karen Handel and Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff. It has become one of the most closely watched congressional races in the country. Registration for the June 20 runoff closed Sunday, May 21.
The Georgia Secretary of State’s office said, of the 5,532 registrations processed so far, almost half – 2,461 – are from Fulton County.
It has the largest share of the district. But where in Fulton makes the difference, Kennesaw State political scientist Kerwin Swint said.
“On the surface, you could say, well, North Fulton is a very good area for Karen Handel, and so, more new voters registered there might give her an upper hand,” Swint said.
He said the scales could tip in the other direction too, based on results from the April 20 special election.
“Some of the precincts in the southern part of the Fulton portion of the 6th District were going, you know, sometimes half for Ossoff,” Swint said.
The applications include new, changed and transfer applications after voter registration was reopened in the district. A changed application means that a voter changed their name or other information to update the voter’s record. A transfer application means a voter changed their voter’s record from one county to another.
Cobb County had 1,082 new, changed and transfer applications while DeKalb had 1,989.
The Secretary of State’s office says these numbers will probably increase as more applications are processed.
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