ATLANTA — The polls in Georgia closed at 7 p.m. for the Senate runoff between incumbent Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker.
Now, the biggest question: When will we find out who won?
Obviously, we can't say definitively when the race will be called. There are lot of factors that go into when news organizations such as The Associated Press call races (11Alive does not independently make race calls). And the state of Georgia does not officially call the race until it certifies results, which is a dayslong process that follows the election.
But, all that said, we can paint a decent outline of how things might go. The first factor to consider is how close the race is.
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When we might know who won the Georgia runoff if the race isn't close
No surprise, this is the much easier scenario.
If it's not particularly close, you should be able to see who won later tonight. On Election Day in November, NBC News projected Gov. Brian Kemp the winner in the Georgia governor's race around 11 p.m.
One important point there: Kemp had a particularly sizable lead, which made it easier to call the race earlier, and this race is broadly expected to be much closer. But, if it's not that close - as in, there's not a huge, but a clear enough lead for one candidate or the other to make a call - they could make that call at midnight, 1 a.m., 2 a.m., in that general time of the night.
Georgia Sec. of State Brad Raffensperger said Tuesday that results will be up "relatively quickly" thanks to a change in Georgia voting law that allowed counties this year to begin processing absentee mail-in ballots - opening the envelopes and scanning them as valid - before Election Day.
It should be quick to then run those votes through a tabulator. As Raffensperger described it, you would also have all the early in-person votes from last week - which are all already cast and "in" the system, so to speak - ready to be tabulated near-instantly as well.
Then it's simply a matter of tabulating Election Day votes and processing military and overseas ballots that come in - those have a deadline until Friday to arrive.
When we might know who won the Georgia runoff if the race is too close to call
This is when it gets trickier, of course.
If it's too close to call, then it becomes a matter of wrapping up all the official processes and having counties certify their results.
Raffensperger explained on Tuesday that factors such as those military/overseas ballots and a court decision allowing Cobb County absentee voters more time to get their votes in could then be consequential.
It may look fairly obvious which candidate has the clearer - if small - edge, but news organizations may be hesitant to make a call if it's very close.
The state will be updating results throughout this as they're available to be updated, but they won't be official until counties certify, which under state law is 5 p.m. on the second Friday following the date of the election.
What about a recount?
If the two candidates are within 0.5% of one another, then the losing candidate can request a recount. That would take place after all the counties first certify their results.