Confidence in poll workers, election officials high in Georgia, 4 other battleground states

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - A new poll conducted in five battleground states - including Georgia - shows 78% of voters surveyed are confident their state can administer a fair election.

Conducted by Public Opinion Strategies, the poll surveyed 2,033 voters in those battleground states between Oct. 20-26, 2022.

“As Election Day nears, voters in the battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin are expressing strong confidence in their state’s ability to administer a fair and free election,” said Daniel Griffith, senior director of policy at Secure Democracy Foundation. “Strong majorities of voters believe their state bodies should certify the election, even if a losing candidate refuses to concede or a losing candidate claims there was fraud without providing evidence.”

Full coverage of Georgia’s 2022 midterms

The new survey found that less than a week before the midterm elections, voters trust state officials and agencies to follow the law when certifying election results. Additionally, voters not only have confidence in how elections are run in their state, but also in the various voting methods offered throughout the country.

• Some of the key findings in Georgia include:
• 94% of Georgia voters agree their state body has a responsibility to certify election results as faithfully reported by local election officials.
• 78% of Georgia voters think their state body should certify the election even if a losing candidate refuses to concede.
• 77% of Georgia voters think their state body should certify the election if a losing candidate claims there was fraud without providing any evidence.
• 74% of Georgia voters think their state body should certify the election even if a losing candidate appeared to be in the lead on election night but ultimately lost after mail-in, absentee, and military ballots were counted.
• 87% of Georgia voters believe it is very important that elections are free of political or partisan interference.

More than two million Georgia voters have already turned out for this year’s midterms.

The nation’s most watched governor’s race features incumbent Republican Brian Kemp facing a re-election challenge from Stacey Abrams, who is seeking to become the nation’s first Black female governor in history.

U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock is facing a strong challenge from Republican Herschel Walker in his bid for a full, six-year Senate term. That race could determine the balance of power in the Senate.

Currently, there are 50 Republicans in the Senate and 48 Democrats, but the Senate’s two Independents caucus with Democrats, meaning the body is split at 50-50. Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, casts any tie-breaking votes.

Warnock won his current seat in a January 2021 runoff against Kelly Loeffler, who had been appointed by Gov. Brian Kemp to fill the unexpired term of Johnny Isakson, who had resigned due to health reasons. Warnock’s win, along with Jon Ossoff’s ouster of then-incumbent David Perdue, gave Georgia two Democratic U.S. senators for the first time in decades.

Walker and Warnock will face each other in a December runoff if neither captures a majority of the vote.

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