When federal Judge Steve C. Jones ordered the date changed for Georgia’s federal elections, he set in motion a series of political changes as well.
Secretary of State Brian Kemp announced the order Friday as the outcome of a lawsuit the U.S. Department of Justice had filed against the state. Even though Jones and Kemp are both Athens natives, the hometown ties were not enough for Kemp to win.
“We are buddies. He just made a wrong decision,” Kemp said.
Jones lengthened the election by moving candidate qualifying and the primary election earlier in the year and extending the general election into the next year when a runoff is required. A longer election is unlikely to enthuse voters, candidates or political donors.
Candidate qualifying will be in March during the legislative session. The primary will be in early June rather than mid-July. And a general-election runoff would be Jan. 6, requiring candidates to campaign during the holiday season and for the winner to be sworn in after Congress has already begun.
The new dates mean legislators running for higher office will resign midterm to escape the legal prohibition against fundraising when the General Assembly is in session, thereby triggering special elections. It will mean they’ll have to raise extra money for a longer primary runoff period which will be increasingly negative since attacks done through press releases cost less than advertisements. And they’ll be running ads during the Thanksgiving to New Year’s period when merchants do their main advertising.
“I’ve been in a summer runoff, and I can tell you, three weeks is brutal,” Kemp said. “I can’t imagine going a little over three months.”
Veteran political consultant Mark Rountree of Landmark Communication has the same suspicions as Kemp. Rountree believes absentee-ballot campaigns are ineffective at stimulating votes or altering the outcome of elections anyway.
“It’s almost as if the feds wanted to make it as painful as possible to have runoffs,” he said.
From a practical standpoint, a June primary may draw in older volunteers who don’t have the stamina to go door to door in July heat but might in milder June weather, he speculated. Plus, students could be engaged in their final weeks of school in ways unlikely after they scatter for the summer recess.
RN-T.com – Analysis Federal court order impacts more than election dates.
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