Georgia's Senate seats will be determined by runoff elections some say are tainted with racism

With two runoff races in Georgia on Tuesday set to determine the balance of power in the U.S. Senate, some experts say the runoff process in the state is a continuation of discriminatory voting practices there.

"In the American experience, runoff elections historically have disproportionately impacted African American communities in Georgia. Runoff elections were adopted to legally maintain white majority control, particularly during the Civil Rights era," said Joshua Holzer, a political science professor at Westminster College in Missouri.

In most states, the winner of an election is the candidate who receives the most votes -- even if it's a plurality -- or less than a majority.

But in Georgia and nine other Southern states, a candidate must reach at least 50% of the vote to win. Unless a candidate meets this threshold, the race is decided by a runoff election.

Holzer said that the runoff system in Georgia was designed so that if a Black candidate made it to the second round, white voters from both parties could come together to diminish the Black candidate's chances.

In Georgia, incumbent Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler, who is white and was appointed to her seat in 2019, is up against Democrat Rev. Raphael Warnock, who is Black.

In November, Loeffler won 25.9% percent of the vote while Warnock received 32.9% -- as both candidates split the vote with other candidates, including members of their own parties, who were competing in the 20-person "jungle primary" style special election that will determine who serves the final two years of retired Sen. Johnny Isakson's term.

At the same time, now former Republican Sen. David Perdue is facing a runoff with Democrat Jon Ossoff, both of whom are white. Perdue won 49.7% of the vote in November, while Ossoff won 48%.

Runoff elections were created by Democrats, who at the time were more conservative.

Republicans, now known as the more conservative party, maintain strong single-party control in Georgia and historically benefit from runoffs.

Runoff races in the state date back to the Civil Rights era.