Augusta, GA
Ga. senators fight voting method that would avoid runoffs
ATLANTA, Ga. – Ranked-choice voting is barely present in Georgia, but Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and some state senators want to keep it from expanding.
Under the voting method used in some elections in other states, voters rank their choices in order. Lower-finishing candidates are then eliminated and their votes assigned to the surviving candidates until someone reaches a majority.
Supporters say the voting system could allow Georgia to avoid its system of runoff elections, required when a candidate doesn’t win.
They say runoffs usually have lower turnouts than earlier rounds of voting, and that voters dislike them, especially Georgia’s unusual requirement for a runoff when no candidate wins a majority in the general election. Most states declare the highest finisher the winner in a general election, even if they don’t win a runoff.
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But Georgia’s Senate Ethics Committee voted 8-1 Tuesday to ban the practice for all voters except for American citizens who vote absentee from abroad, sending the measure to full Senate for more debate. Since 2021, those citizens have cast a ranked-choice ballot because it’s impractical to send a runoff ballot abroad and get it back within the four-week window for a runoff.
Republican Sen. Randy Robertson of Cataula, the sponsor of Senate Bill 355, said the practice needs to be prohibited because voters will be confused, results will be delayed, and people who only vote for one candidate will often see their vote go uncounted. He held up a ranked choice ballot from another city and likened it to “the lottery card at Circle K where you pick your numbers.”
With the backing of the lieutenant governor, the measure is likely to pass the Senate floor, but its prospects are more uncertain in the House.
On the opposite side of the issue is Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, the state’s elections chief. About a month ago, he called for lawmakers to get rid of general election runoffs, saying it’s time to “eliminate this outdated distraction.”
Robertson’s efforts were supported by testimony from multiple conservative groups nationwide. Their testimony focused in part on congressional elections in Alaska and Maine where Republicans had led the first round of voting but Democrats won after second-choice votes were redistributed.
“How could you rightfully have a congressional election where someone of that persuasion won or advanced when you had a state that went so far in the other direction in the presidential election?” Jordan Kittleson of the America First Policy Institute asked of the Alaska election. He called ranked-choice voting “a confusing, chaotic system whereby the person with the most votes doesn’t always win.”
But former state Rep. Scot Turner, a libertarian-leaning Republican, said voters aren’t confused by ranked-choice voting and argued Georgia’s current runoff system is costly, with fewer voters returning to cast additional ballots.
“At a minimum, we don’t know who our winner is for a month, and we have to pay for it, $75 million, and we have a half-million people silenced by that process,” Turner said.
He also questioned, if the method was so terrible, why it’s acceptable for soldiers overseas to use it.
“If ranked choice voting is so bad, why are you subjecting our men and women in uniform to something that is confusing and would disenfranchise them?” Turner asked.
Republican Wes Cantrell, another former state House member, called the opposition “spin and misinformation.”
He said that if Georgia voters had a second choice in 2020 that Donald Trump would have won Georgia’s presidential vote, and Republican David Perdue might have retained his U.S. Senate seat. He instead lost a runoff to Democrat Jon Ossoff.
“RCV is not a partisan issue,” Cantrell said. “It doesn’t benefit Democrats or Republicans. It represents taxpayers and voters.”
He said that voters hate runoffs. “The process is flawed and it’s because we wear our voters out,” Cantrell said.
Copyright 2024 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – One person was fatally shot in an armed robbery on Lumpkin Road, according to authorities, and a suspect has been arrested.
The victim was identified as 29-year-old Abdallah Rubeha of Augusta.
The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office said the incident happened at the Smoke Shop at 2303 Lumpkin Road around 9:30 p.m. Friday.
Deputies say they arrived to find Rubeha, an employee, had been shot at least once.
He was taken to Wellstar MCG Hospital, where he died at 7:35 a.m. Saturday, according to Richmond County Coroner Mark Bowen.
After the robbery, deputies were able to identify three suspects and their vehicle.
The vehicle was registered in Burke County, and Richmond County deputies reached out to the Burke County Sheriff’s Office with the information, according to officials.
Burke County deputies say they attempted a traffic stop at 11:25 p.m. Friday at Savannah Avenue and East 17th Street in Waynesboro.
Deputies in Burke County pursued the vehicle in a high-speed chase, which turned into a foot pursuit, officials say.
The driver, 22-year-old Terrance Walker, was arrested and charged with felony aggravated assault, armed robbery, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime in Richmond County.
According to Burke County deputies, another person was in the passenger’s seat and is believed to be connected to the robbery.
Burke County deputies say they also found a black Taurus G2C 9 mm handgun believed to have been stolen during the armed robbery.
Walker faces additional charges in Richmond and Burke counties, including driving under the influence, according to jail bookings.
An autopsy has been scheduled for Rubeha.
The year is off to a deadly start in Augusta; this is already the third homicide of 2025.
The slayings come amid a nearly three-year outbreak of violent crime that’s claimed around 200 lives.
Communities large and small have been affected on both sides of the Savannah River, but as the region’s largest city, Augusta has been hit hard.
Copyright 2025 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The basketball doubleheader featuring both Augusta University and University of South Carolina Aiken has been moved to Sunday.
The two were originally slated to play on Saturday afternoon.
The women’s game will tipoff at 1:30 p.m., and the men’s will follow at 3:30 p.m in the USC Aiken Convocation Center.
Both the Pacers and Jags men’s team last played on Feb. 10 2024.
AU climbed to a 5-point lead in the final period, winning 98-93.
Prior to their last meeting, USC Aiken had a four-game win streak over the Jags.
Sunday will mark the 89th meeting between the two programs.
Copyright 2025 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Multiple cars crashed due to winter weather conditions on I-20 in the CSRA early Friday morning, according to authorities.
On I-20 in Augusta, the road conditions at the Washington Road exit were hazardous, according to our reporter on the interstate.
Our reporter saw another wreck on the Bobby Jones overpass from I-520 to I-20 at 10:35 a.m. We’ve reached out to learn more.
Across the river, on I-20 westbound just before mile marker 4, multiple vehicles were pulled over after a car carrier crash around 10 a.m. in Aiken County.
We have reached out to learn more.
Dispatch told us crews were on the scene of a multiple-car crash on I-20 eastbound at the Walton Way extension ramp at 9:25 a.m.
Officials say at least two vehicles were involved, but more were reported, and they are unsure how many exactly.
They did however say more vehicles became involved after sliding on the road from weather conditions.
Dispatch says they are unsure of any injuries or if any lanes were blocked.
MORE FROM NEWS 12
CSRA winter weather: Full coverage
- LIVE: Latest news on winter weather across the CSRA
- See the winter weather across the CSRA on our live camera network
- How Augusta and state agencies are preparing for icy winter blast
- CSRA schools move to virtual learning in preparation for winter storm
- List of warming shelters in Augusta to escape the cold
- What Red Cross says to do in a winter storm
- Electric crews ‘ready to help’ during winter storm
- Several local FEMA centers closing due to winter weather
- Protecting your pets during extremely cold weather
- What can renters do if pipes burst due to winter weather?
- Don’t get burned by cold-weather home repair scams
- Local fire crews warn of heating hazards in cold weather
- How to spot warning signs of frostbite, hypothermia
- Protecting your most precious plants from winter’s wrath
- Stay inside if you can during cold snap, experts say
- Winter weather myths debunked to keep you safe
- If your pipes freeze or break, follow this advice from experts
- How to get help with your heating bill in the CSRA
- What to know if you’ll be driving in subfreezing weather
- How to protect your heating system during freezing temperatures
- How to stay warm on a budget and beat the cold weather
- Trouble from burst pipes can linger well beyond a freeze
- Keep your pipes from bursting in freezing weather
- How to prepare your home for major freeze
They also told us about another accident in Columbia County in the same area.
We have reached out to learn more.
Copyright 2025 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
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