Georgia runoff election - live: Incumbent Warnock polls ahead of Walker as early voting turnout breaks record

Early turnout in Georgia's Senate runoff broke daily voting records three times since polls in all 159 counties across the state opened last Monday.

“Georgia is a national leader in voter access and security,” Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said in a statement last week. We are having historic levels of turnout and those who want to vote are voting- we believe this level of voter participation is excellent, and we'll keep working with counties to encourage them to open more Early Voting locations in the future.”

Senator Raphael Warnock warned supporters that there is a still a path for Herschel Walker to win in today’s runoff election.

“Let me tell you my definition of ‘tired’ this morning: having to be represented by Herschel Walker for 6 years. That, my friends, will be exhausting.”

Now, even as he is no longer in the White House, Mr Trump remains the de facto leader of the Republican Party, meaning its elected officials must answer for every egregious statement or call to subvert the law he makes. The difference is that now, after two impeachments and suffering a crushing loss in 2020, he no longer offers them many benefits. Rather, every utterance he makes reminds voters why they don’t vote for Republicans.

He holds no office and his popularity is waning. But Republicans are stuck with his candidates and having to answer for his every word

Democrats clinched their Senate majority earlier this month when they won seats in Nevada and Arizona. Still, there is one last contest in the battle for the Senate: The runoff race in Georgia between Democratic incumbent Senator Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker.

The race will determine whether the Senate will remain evenly split with Democrats and Republicans each holding 50 Senate seats, where Vice President Kamala Harris breaks ties, or whether Democrats will have a one-seat majority in the Senate.

Here’s our breakdown of the final and most important Senate race in the country.

Democrats already have the majority. But Republicans want to keep the Senate at a tie.

The Justice Department plans to monitor compliance with federal voting rights laws in four counties in Georgia today, the department said in a statement.

Since the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965, the Civil Rights Division has regularly monitored elections in the field in jurisdictions around the country to protect the rights of voters. The Civil Rights Division enforces the federal voting rights laws that protect the rights of all citizens to access the ballot.

For this election, the Civil Rights Division will monitor for compliance with the federal voting rights laws on Election Day in four jurisdictions: Cobb County, Fulton County, Gwinnett County, and Macon-Bibb County. Monitors will include personnel from the Civil Rights Division and from the US Attorneys’ Offices.

The Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section enforces the civil provisions of federal statutes that protect the right to vote, including the Voting Rights Act, the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, the National Voter Registration Act, the Help America Vote Act, and the Civil Rights Acts.

Results of the race will likely be known earlier than in the 2021 runoff, due largely to the fact that many voters have already cast their ballot. The last day of early voting took place on Friday, as 1.87m voters, about 26.7 per cent of registered voters, cast their ballot in the early voting period.

Eric Garcia has the details.

The large number of people who voted early means that results might come earlier than expected.

The Independent’s Eric Garcia profiles Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker, the two men competing for Georgia’s Senate seat.

The final Senate race is by far the most bizarre

Senator Raphael Warnock addressed canvassers in Norcross, Georgia, in his final event before polls close.

“We’re leaving it all on the field, but I’ve got a feeling that the people of Georgia are going to get this right and we’re gonna get this done,” he said.

Republican candidate Herschel Walker held his final campaign event at a gun range on Monday, while Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock appeared at a brewery in Atlanta, Politico reports.

“My opponent was an amazing football player,” Mr Warnock told the crowd of about 200 people at the Wild Heaven West End Brewery. “He was a great running back. Let’s send him running back to Texas.”

He also urged his supporters to get out the vote on Tuesday if they haven’t already: “We saw record voter turnout during the early vote period,” he said.

“But don’t underestimate the opposition.”

Mr Warnock spent Monday focusing on Atlanta and meeting with core groups of Democratic Party constituents including union members and college students.

Mr Walker did a five-stop bus tour outside of the state’s capital and biggest city. Speaking to supporters at the Governors Gun Club, he said that turnout was key.

“This is about turnout. And that means that we’ve got to get in the game, and we can’t sit on the sideline anymore. Because if we sit on the sideline, y’all seen what we’re going to get.”

The former football star was joined in the evening by former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel.