Key points:
• Republicans and Democrats running for Georgia secretary of state pitched themselves as the best candidate to be the state’s next chief election official at an April 28 debate, separated by party.
• Candidates across the political spectrum agree about the need to rebuild confidence in elections, but several see the other side of the aisle as a threat to the system.
• While the Republicans largely debated the 2020 election and voting machines, the Democrats looked ahead at modernization and institutional reform.
Four Georgia Secretary of State candidates from each party squared off at the Atlanta Press Club Loudermilk-Young Debate Series held three weeks before the May 19 primary.
Five Republicans and four Democrats are vying to be the state’s next chief election official and primary business registrar. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is running for governor, leaving the seat open.
Because of a crowded field in both party primaries, a June 16 runoff is likely.
Nine-way race for open seat
The Atlanta Press Club, in partnership with Georgia Public Broadcasting, hosted primary election debates April 26-28 for major statewide races and a couple of congressional districts.
The Georgia secretary of state registers voters, tracks annual corporate filings, grants professional licenses, and oversees the state’s securities market. The state has had a Republican in office since 2007.
Despite political disagreements, Republicans and Democrats said they’re running to rebuild confidence in Georgia elections. Both sides agree that the system needs work, but they diagnose different problems.
While most Republicans said they saw fraud and illegal processes in the 2020 presidential election, most Democrats said they are fighting voter suppression and interference from the federal government.
State law bans QR codes from being used to tally votes after July 1, and the Georgia General Assembly failed to pass any legislation reversing course or funding another tabulation method.
Moderators asked candidates how the state should comply with the law banning the use of computer-generated codes to tabulate votes and whether they think federal investigations are justified.
Heated moments between candidates
In both debates, the candidate-on-candidate segment was the most combative. Republican candidates reflected a party wrestling with questions about the 2020 presidential election, while Democrats pitched themselves as the best option to rebuild confidence in elections.
In one of the more heated moments, former DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones criticized former U.S. Senate candidate Kelvin King for an alleged conflict of interest, stemming from his company’s state contracts.
King, whose wife Janelle serves on the State Election Board, criticized Jones’ record in DeKalb County and his former affiliation with the Democratic Party. Janelle King has said she will step down if Kelvin is elected.
Gabriel Sterling, a former chief operating officer for the Georgia secretary of state and Sandy Springs council member, seized on the moment in a post on X.
Eventually, the debate moderator cut off their microphones as the exchange became heated. While the Democratic debate was more collegial, candidates did take a couple of jabs.
In the most contentious moment of the Democratic debate, Fulton County Commissioner Dana Barrett criticized former Fulton County Judge Penny Brown Reynolds for stepping down less than halfway through her term.
In response, Reynolds said Barrett dropped out of the Fulton County chair race and called her conservative (which she denied).
Democrats on the ballot
Democratic Party candidates include Barrett, Reynolds, Gwinnett County business owner and immigrant Cam Ashling, and 26-year-old Marietta resident Adrian Consonery Jr.
Barrett said the State Election Board and the Trump administration are trying to take over county-run elections in Georgia. She pitched herself as the candidate who could win a statewide race against a Republican.
“The only way we solve the affordability crisis for Georgians is by choosing leaders we believe will bring real solutions to the table, and the only way we do that is with free, fair, secure elections,” Barrett said. “They’re doing everything in their power to stop us from voting.”
All candidates said they supported ranked-choice voting, reinstating the secretary of state on the election board, and streamlining professional licensing. Democrats also focused on the need to protect voting rights and align the state’s voting system with current law.
The youngest candidate running for secretary of state from either party, Consonery Jr., pitched himself as an agent of change who will ensure people’s voices are heard.
“For everybody that is on this stage right now, we are all dedicated to serving you,” Consonery Jr. said. “I promise you, as your next secretary of state, you will be involved in every single pull of a pen … any policy, you will be in mind.”
Watch the APC debate with Democratic candidates for Georgia secretary of state here.
Republicans on the ballot
The Republican Party candidates are former state Rep. Vernon Jones, veteran and business owner Kelvin King, libertarian Ted Metz, and former Georgia Secretary of State COO Gabriel Sterling. State Rep. Tim Fleming (R-Covington) did not attend the debate.
Elections dominated the Republican debate, with some candidates relitigating the 2020 presidential election and questioning the mechanics of Georgia’s voting system.
Metz, a former Libertarian Party candidate, said he thinks the state’s use of voting machines and the current system is illegal. Metz said the 2020 election should not have been certified, while attacking Sterling’s record and promoting hand-counted ballots.
Jones and King said they think the 2020 election was a mess, supporting the FBI’s investigation and a switch from QR codes to hand-marked, paper ballots. Their position is somewhere between Sterling’s support of the state election system and Metz’s strong opposition.
Sterling, who oversaw the implementation of the state’s voting machine system, said the legislature passed reforms after the 2020 election and has successfully defended Senate Bill 202 in court. He said he doesn’t think an investigation will yield a different outcome.
“We have to look forward now,” Sterling said, citing record turnout on the first day of early voting. “The faith has been restored, except for a small segment of Georgians. We have a very good system. People like doing it. They go in, and they show their ID. They vote very quickly, very easily.”
Watch the APC debate with Republican candidates for Georgia secretary of state here.
