Georgia voters spent Tuesday deciding one of the most consequential down-ballot races in the country: who will serve as the state's next secretary of state, the official who oversees every election in Georgia and certifies statewide results. Republican state Rep. Tim Fleming and Democrat Penny Brown Reynolds are the two names on the ballot, and the winner will take over an office that also handles professional business licensing and will oversee implementation of the voting machine system state lawmakers are expected to select during the 2027 legislative session.
NBC's results display can include an expected-vote estimate and a breakdown by vote type. NBC said its results data came from The Associated Press, with race projections made by the NBC News Decision Desk. Over at SavannahNow, the secretary of state contest between Fleming and Brown Reynolds was similarly listed as not called.
Polling places across the state opened at 7 a.m. and were scheduled to close at 7 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. One wrinkle emerged in Norcross, where a judge extended voting at Rockbridge Elementary School until 7:07 p.m. after a safety drill interrupted balloting there for seven minutes, the newspaper reported. The AJC also noted that more than 2.8 million Georgians had already cast ballots during the three weeks of early voting, setting a new midterm election record.
Two Very Different Resumes
Fleming is a two-term state representative from Covington who previously served as deputy secretary of state under then-Secretary of State Brian Kemp, according to Georgia Recorder. Brown Reynolds, meanwhile, is a former state court judge and Biden administration official who, per the same outlet's reporting, helped lead the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. As reported by FOX 5 Atlanta, a Brown Reynolds victory would make her Georgia's first Democratic secretary of state in nearly two decades.
Whoever wins succeeds Republican Brad Raffensperger, who opted to run for governor rather than seek reelection, according to WJCL. Georgia Recorder's coverage noted that Raffensperger's refusal to overturn Georgia's 2020 election results likely helped him win support from Democrats and independents and defeat a Trump-backed challenger in 2022 — a dynamic that has loomed over how both parties are approaching this year's open seat.
Voting Machines And Ballot Access Split The Candidates
The policy divide between the two candidates is stark. Fleming opposes Georgia's current electronic ballot-marking machines and sponsored an amendment during the June special session requiring the committee tasked with selecting the state's next voting system to focus exclusively on hand-marked paper ballots, according to Fox 5 Atlanta's reporting on the race. He has also pushed to defend the state's photo identification laws and restrict no-excuse absentee voting, the station reported, while Georgia Recorder's coverage separately described his push to restrict no-excuse absentee voting and defend voter ID requirements.
Brown Reynolds has staked out the opposite position on ballot access, calling for expanded weekend voting hours, longer absentee ballot windows and more secure drop boxes, per Fox 5 Atlanta. Georgia Recorder reported that she has pledged to defend absentee voting and expand voting rights broadly, arguing that Georgia's existing laws already require voters to show ID at the polls and already bar noncitizens from voting. The outlet's reporting also noted that state lawmakers are expected to select a replacement voting system during the 2027 legislative session, as the state's contract for its current ballot-marking devices nears its end.
Stakes Extend To The 2028 Presidential Race
Beyond this year's ballot, the winner will oversee the 2028 presidential election in Georgia and help determine what equipment voters statewide use to cast their ballots, according to Fox 5 Atlanta's reporting. That makes the outcome one of the more consequential down-ballot results nationally, even as SavannahNow listed the race as not called. The Georgia Secretary of State's office also compiles official results for races dating back to 2012.
