ATLANTA — Several voters in Georgia have noticed that, when they go to make their selections on the ballot on voting screens or on paper absentee ballots, Republican candidates are listed first for all the races.
Those voters have reached out to 11Alive with a simple question - why is that?
And, it turns out, there's a fairly simple answer.
Why do Republicans appear first on Georgia ballots?
It has to do with how Georgia law is written to lay out how the ballot must be presented.
Georgia Code § 21-2-285 deals with the regulations state and local officials must abide by when writing an official election ballot.
The reason, according to that law, Republicans appear this year at the top of every race is because party candidates must be listed "in the descending order of the totals of votes cast for candidates of the political parties for Governor at the last gubernatorial election."
So, effectively, when Gov. Brian Kemp won the election in 2018, he also won the right for all the candidates of his party - the Republican Party - to appear at the top of races on this year's ballot (as well as the ballots in 2019, 2020 and 2021, for that matter).
If Stacey Abrams had won, Democrats would be at the top. And if she wins this year, they'll appear at the top on ballots next year and through at least 2026 - the next time Georgians will vote for governor.
By that same token, if Kemp wins reelection, it'll continue to be Republicans at the top for the next four years.
Is this always the case?
One other question to address, and the answer is no. For primaries or special elections, the law stipulates that "names shall be arranged alphabetically by last name under the title of the office."
11Alive is committed to helping you vote confidently by understanding the 2022 election issues that impact you. Our goal is to educate and inform our audience about the election process. We plan to do that by verifying facts, providing context, and explaining the system.
You can read our full mission statement online. In addition, get more election resources here at 11alive.com/vote.