All eyes on Georgia for hand recount, key Senate runoffs

SAVANNAH, Ga. (NewsNation Now) — All 159 counties in Georgia are pushing through a ‘statewide risk-limiting audit’ — to tally election ballots by hand.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced the audit earlier this week, he said they need to check paper ballots against machine ballots to ensure the accuracy of those machines.

Chatham County’s tally involves a two-step process: a verbal count and a manual one.

Runners deliver batches of about 100 ballots to audit board staff members, they then work in teams of two.

One person reads the vote aloud and the second sorts it, based on who the vote is for.

Chatham County Board of Elections head Tom Mahoney is confident they can count every ballot before Wednesday’s deadline.

The county allows at least two monitors from each party to watch the process.

Road to the runoff

Also in Georgia, the road to the runoff begins. There are two races that could decide which party holds power in the U.S. Senate next year.

Incumbent Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler face Democratic challengers Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock.

With the Senate’s balance of power on the line, Democrats and Republicans are already visiting the Peach State to rally support and raise money.

Tuesday, Jan. 5 is Election Day for those runoff races in Georgia.

Local perspective

NewsNation affiliate WSAV’s Ben Senger joined us to discuss the recounts and the two Senate seats that are still up for grabs. Watch the full discussion in the player above.