Eight days since the defeat of Senator Raphael Warnock, and now the Georgia-led state is totally competitive, the Republicans in the state want to change their voting rules again. On December 14, the secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger (R), stated that Georgia is keen to abolish the runoff system in whole. A moment later, the Georgia runoff becomes the second state runoff, triggered by a general election when no one gets 50% of the votes. Raffensperger said that the election staff had to shake the holiday season, but it was a better way to get rid of the tragedy of the Civil Rights movement, especially its policy that cooled down the Black voting bloc.
While the process was largely a Republican effort led by segregationist state legislators, Denmark Groover assumes much of the responsibility for this policy. To know what kind of man he is, know that Groover was known for decades as the man who built the Georgia State Flag in 1952. He admitted to the supreme court that a decision outlawing segregation was a direct answer to that decision. Historicist, Morgan Kousser explained to PBS NewsHour that the runoff policy is one of many policies to be avoided by black people after a contested election in 1958 in Macon, involving Groover.
Why did the runoff start?
Groover urged a probe of block voting to make sure that a majority of Black Georgians supported him would like to vote if they were true. Sure, many white people didn’t like him either, but knowing that people that he believed was inferior to him voted together against less racist, white candidates was enough for Groover. Since he was elected president in 1962, Groover authored the legislation, which requires over 50% of the vote, giving the Negro voting bloc a direct attack. By the time he was over, Groover would say that he would never be the one who said that.
I was a contagious politician. I was a county clerk. I was, but as long as you do, to see if I’m racist. If you want to understand that some of my political activities were racially motivated, then that would be right.
Anyhow, the greek manipulative tactic worked. That was one of many racists voting policies that limited Black civic engagement. Why are many places not allowed to bust people into the polls, or to get early voting on Sundays. Many black voters come together after church and vote. People who belong to working class may be forced to vote again because of a runoff such as this.
If all people leave the runoff and replace it by ranked-choice voting or just need a simple majority, the numbers increase dramatically, and it is not just Democrats. The problem is that he may take this route, not to mention the fact that Raffensperger swung up his vote at the general elections and the runoffs.
(Featured image: Megan Varner/Getty Images)