# Georgia senate runoff elections. Let’s debate and make predictions **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 7, 2020, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-senate-runoff-elections-let-s-debate-and-make-predictions/925015 "2020-11-07T23:16:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-senate-runoff-elections-let-s-debate-and-make-predictions/925015/81 "2020-11-26T02:02:18Z")
> [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](#): > > Or if someone does something goofy like submit a blank ballot, although the tabulating machine might kick that out as an error. There will be people that deliberately submit blank ballots or overvoted ballots as a ‘protest.’ There always are. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-senate-runoff-elections-let-s-debate-and-make-predictions/925015/82 "2020-11-26T02:22:41Z")
Both GOP candidates win in a walk. It’s the pessimism burned into my soul as a Southern Democrat who’s seen way too many of these to believe anymore. The general is a time when upsets can be pulled off. Special elections are not. I would LOVE to be wrong, but I don’t think I am. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-senate-runoff-elections-let-s-debate-and-make-predictions/925015/83 "2020-11-26T02:36:03Z")
> [@Boycott](#): > > With all eyes on Georgia for the determination of the senate majority I wonder if that aspect of out of state involvement will be counterproductive. Indeed, something to suss out over the coming weeks. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-senate-runoff-elections-let-s-debate-and-make-predictions/925015/84 "2020-11-26T13:58:31Z")
> [@Boycott](#): > > With all eyes on Georgia for the determination of the senate majority I wonder if that aspect of out of state involvement will be counterproductive. Yes. I am not a GA resident. After reading that same article, my family and I decided to put out GA GOTV efforts to handwriting and addressing 500 postcards to GA residents in a data-driven list. There is apparently evidence that a hand-written reminder card is one of the few media that has a chance of penetrating the annoying slew of television ads, phone calls, and impersonal junk mail. We don’t include a return address, and we end the message with our first name. We’ll see. (Preparing and stamping the cards didn’t take as long as we’d feared — we listened to R.E.M., OutKast, and James Brown. We’re not supposed to send them until just after Christmas.) ---
**Author:** ![Lantern2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lantern2/32/3010_2.png) [@Lantern2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern2)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-senate-runoff-elections-let-s-debate-and-make-predictions/925015/85 "2020-11-26T14:03:03Z")
Are there any polls? Georgia after all was one of the states for which they were moderately accurate. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-senate-runoff-elections-let-s-debate-and-make-predictions/925015/86 "2020-11-26T14:17:22Z")
> [@Lantern2](#): > > Are there any polls Good question. Very few so far (see here — [Georgia 2020 Senate Runoff Election Polls - 270toWin](https://www.270towin.com/2020-senate-polls/runoff/georgia/)) — these show the race essentially tied at this point. I’m sure there will be more, and better, ones in coming weeks. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-senate-runoff-elections-let-s-debate-and-make-predictions/925015/87 "2020-11-26T14:25:21Z")
Metro Atlanta blew up from 1.4 million to 5.5 million in a 3 decade period. Half of the state is from ‘somewhere else’ in my experience. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-senate-runoff-elections-let-s-debate-and-make-predictions/925015/88 "2020-11-26T14:26:16Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Yes. I am not a GA resident. After reading that same article, my family and I decided to put out GA GOTV efforts to handwriting and addressing 500 postcards to GA residents in a data-driven list. There is apparently evidence that a hand-written reminder card is one of the few media that has a chance of penetrating the annoying slew of television ads, phone calls, and impersonal junk mail. > > We don’t include a return address, and we end the message with our first name. I remember _The Guardian’s_ effort in 2004 to get their British readers to write letters to undecided voters in Ohio to try to persuade them to vote for Kerry. Over 11,000 readers wrote letters to individual Ohio voters arguing why Bush was a disaster for the world. The article about the result was headlined, “[Dear Limey Assholes. . .](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2004/11/a-crazy-british-plot-to-help-kerry.html)” ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-senate-runoff-elections-let-s-debate-and-make-predictions/925015/89 "2020-11-26T14:40:41Z")
Ouch! The difference, though, is that the actions of US senators really do affect all Americans, more directly than a US president affects the lives of Brits. When I read that recent post-mortem article about Collins and Gideon, most of the way I was thinking “Fine, good for Mainers, keep your dignity and independence…,” but toward the end I thought, “FUCK THAT! How selfish! Don’t you realize your vote will likely make a huge difference for how the next four years or more play out — for ALL Americans?” ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-senate-runoff-elections-let-s-debate-and-make-predictions/925015/90 "2020-11-26T15:20:38Z")
Omg, I never heard about this. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-senate-runoff-elections-let-s-debate-and-make-predictions/925015/91 "2020-11-26T15:36:20Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > When I read that recent post-mortem article about Collins and Gideon, most of the way I was thinking “Fine, good for Mainers, keep your dignity and independence…,” but toward the end I thought, “FUCK THAT! How selfish! Don’t you realize your vote will likely make a huge difference for how the next four years or more play out — for ALL Americans?” It’s fine to feel that way, but it doesn’t change the fact that many voters instinctively get their hackles up when they feel like they’re being lectured to by “outsiders.” If an attempt to persuade voters for one candidate ends up having the opposite effect, then it was counterproductive. I assume Georgia voters would react less strongly to communications from Californians than from Brits, but it is something that has to be handled deftly. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-senate-runoff-elections-let-s-debate-and-make-predictions/925015/92 "2020-11-26T15:42:48Z")
Oh, absolutely. I’m sure that’s why I was instructed to not put my (out-of-state) return address on those postcards to Georgians. Humans are territorial and “us/them”-oriented (duh). Check out Jared Diamond’s book “The World Before Yesterday: What Can We Learn from Traditional Societies?” ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-senate-runoff-elections-let-s-debate-and-make-predictions/925015/93 "2020-11-26T15:46:48Z")
> [@Boycott](#): > > I wonder if that aspect of out of state involvement will be counterproductive I can’t remember where I saw it; but I read an article pleading with out of state people who want to help to follow the lead of the existing local organizations which got out the vote in November: to send money or, if you really want to actively do something personally, to do it under their direction. I wish I could remember where I saw that, I think it had links. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-senate-runoff-elections-let-s-debate-and-make-predictions/925015/94 "2020-11-26T21:28:38Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Oh, absolutely. I’m sure that’s why I was instructed to not put my (out-of-state) return address on those postcards to Georgians… But will they be mailed - and postmarked - from within Georgia? ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-senate-runoff-elections-let-s-debate-and-make-predictions/925015/95 "2020-11-26T22:09:19Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > But will they be mailed - and postmarked - from within Georgia? No. True, there will be clues to the out-of-state origin. But hopefully the reminder and encouragement will be helpful for some. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-senate-runoff-elections-let-s-debate-and-make-predictions/925015/96 "2020-11-26T22:21:28Z")
Did you check with the Georgia get-out-the-vote organizations about whether they’re requesting out-of-state postcards? You could try here: deleted by What Exit?, see below ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-senate-runoff-elections-let-s-debate-and-make-predictions/925015/97 "2020-11-26T22:25:01Z")
Thanks. We did ours through deleted by What Exit?, see below (link broken in case it violates SDMB rules). They recommend just putting them in the mail from your home state. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-senate-runoff-elections-let-s-debate-and-make-predictions/925015/98 "2020-11-26T22:35:31Z")
**Mod Note** : Please, no links to Call to Action sites and Fundraising sites without Admin or Mod permission. I have to delete the link you provided. > [@JKellyMap](#): > > Thanks. We did ours through … (link broken in case it violates SDMB rules). … ditto This is just a guidance, not a warning. Nothing on your permanent record. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-senate-runoff-elections-let-s-debate-and-make-predictions/925015/99 "2020-11-26T22:39:32Z")
Okay, thanks. Is it okay to refer to “Postcardstoswingstates” as the source of information? ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-senate-runoff-elections-let-s-debate-and-make-predictions/925015/100 "2020-11-26T22:55:54Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Please, no links to Call to Action sites and Fundraising sites without Admin or Mod permission. I have to delete the link you provided. Apologies; I forgot about that rule. JKellyMap, my point was suggesting checking specifically with a Georgia group; they would know better how such postcards generally come across in their areas. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-senate-runoff-elections-let-s-debate-and-make-predictions/925015.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/georgia-senate-runoff-elections-let-s-debate-and-make-predictions/925015.md?page=6)