ATLANTA — Control of the U.S. Senate was at stake as voters headed to the polls to decide two runoff races on Tuesday.
Incumbent Republican David Perdue faces a challenge from Democrat Jon Ossoff. Kelly Loeffler takes on the Rev. Rafael Warnock for the Senate seat formerly held by Johnny Isakson.
The polls close at 7:00 p.m. and after that, results will begin to populate on this page.
With such a high percentage of absentee ballots expected, full election results may not be available on the evening of Jan. 5. It's important to remember that initial results you see may not be reflective of the overall results once all the votes are counted.
NORC at the University of Chicago, "an objective non-partisan research institution," surveyed more than 2,700 Georgia voters for the Associated Press to get insight into who voted -- and why -- in the runoff election.
The interactive element below will update throughout election night.
When is the Georgia Senate Runoff Date?
The Georgia Senate runoff will be held on January 5, 2021.
When does ballot counting begin for the Georgia Senate runoffs?
The polls are set to close at 7 p.m. EST on Election Day, and that's when ballot counting can begin. Absentee ballots must be received by the close of polls to be counted. Military and overseas ballots postmarked by Tuesday and received by Friday will be counted, and absentee voters also have until Friday to fix any problems so their votes can be counted.
No ballots, including absentee ballots received in advance of Election Day, can be counted until the polls close. But a state election board rule requires county election officials to begin processing absentee ballots — verifying signatures on the outer envelope, opening the envelopes and scanning the ballots — before Election Day. That should speed things up on election night. Still, some absentee ballots received by mail or in drop boxes up until 7 p.m. on Election Day will still need to be processed.
When will we know the Georgia Senate Runoff results?
Much like the November election, it's very possible Americans will go to bed Tuesday without knowing who won. All indicators point to the likelihood of very tight margins in both races.
Media organizations, including The Associated Press, often declare winners on election night based on the results that are in, voter surveys and other political data.
But in a close race, more of the vote may need to be counted before the AP can call a winner.
What's at stake in the Georgia Senate runoff races?
A lot. If the Republicans win just one seat, they will maintain control of the U.S. Senate. However, if the Democrats are able to win both seats, they will take over power of the Senate.
