County Judge Keeps Fulton Precinct Open 11 p.m. in Georgia Supreme Court Election
A county judge ordered one Fulton County precinct to stay open until 11 p.m. on Tuesday after a lockdown closed the polling place earlier in the day in the georgia supreme court election. State election officials said the other precincts in Fulton County were still expected to report results at a normal cadence.
Georgia Supreme Court Races
Two contests for seats on the Georgia Supreme Court were set to be decided Tuesday night. Jen Auer Jordan challenged incumbent Justice Sarah Hawkins Warren, while Miracle Rankin challenged incumbent Justice Charlie Bethel.
The Georgia Democratic Party backed Jordan and Rankin. Republican Gov. Brian Kemp supported Warren and Bethel, even though the races were technically non-partisan.
Fulton County Precinct
The lockdown created the only polling-place disruption in the facts provided, and the judge’s order kept that single precinct on the clock until 11 p.m. while other Fulton County precincts moved ahead with reporting. For voters in that precinct, the practical result was more time to cast a ballot before the close of polls.
Early voting turnout in Georgia was dominated by Democrats, a pattern that shaped the race around the two Supreme Court seats. Disagreements over abortion and redistricting had also inflamed the challenges to the incumbents.
Derek Dooley At The Battery
Elsewhere on Tuesday night, former college football coach and Georgia Senate hopeful Derek Dooley held his Election Night watch party at The Battery. The mixed-use entertainment district encases the Atlanta Braves’ ballpark, and baseball was playing on a jumbotron mounted above a Shake Shack restaurant across the street from his event.
For Fulton County voters tied to the closed precinct, the immediate question was no longer access to the polls but whether they could use the extra time before 11 p.m. The county judge’s order gave that precinct a later closing time than the rest of the county, while the Supreme Court races continued to be counted alongside the other results from Tuesday night.
