Primary Runoff Day — June 16, 2026
Good Morning! In the news today: the races we’re watching, the state legislature convenes in special session, with maps on their minds; and Brunswick gets help with a long-running problem. Finally, some things you may have missed. Questions, comments, or story ideas? You can reach me at craig.thecurrent@gmail.com.
NEWS: ELECTIONS
Vote!
Early voting totals point to very low turnout in Coastal Georgia in today’s primary runoff.
Early voting turnout for the runoff, both absentee balloting and in-person voting, averaged 5.8% in five Coastal Georgia counties — Bryan, Chatham, Effingham, Glynn and Liberty. The region’s most populous counties — Chatham and Glynn — the numbers were 3.6% and 8.4%, respectively. Statewide, it was 6.6%.
In short, if you haven’t voted, get to it! Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
We’re paying especially close attention to the contest between Joyce Griggs and Amanda Hollowell to choose which Democrat will face Republican Jim Kingston this fall or Coastal Georgia’s Congressional seat. For The Current’s latest coverage of that race, click here and here.
Then there are the endorsement-roiled races for the GOP nomination for governor between Burt Jones and Rick Jackson and for U.S. senator between Mike Collins and Derek Dooley. For The Current’s look at two prominent local Republicans, Jeanne Seaver and Holly Kesler, who are supporting different candidates in the governor’s race, click here.
We’re also watching the GOP contest between incumbent state school superintendent Richard Woods and challenger Bubba Longgrear. At the center of the race, in which all of us have a stake? Low literacy rates.
Finally, we’re monitoring the voting process itself. The Current’s Kelley Lu reports on absentee ballot delays in Chatham County.
NEWS: GOVERNING
Mapmaking
A special session of the Georgia General Assembly gets underway tomorrow. Called by Gov. Brian Kemp, the legislature will consider new voting maps, following a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that weakened the Voting Rights Act; address a state law that bans Georgia from using QR codes for official or final ballot counts after July 1; and weigh homestead tax exemptions and extending the state gas tax suspension.
The Current’s data reporter, Maggie Lee, looks at how mapmaking can distort or follow the will of voters and representation.
NEWS: ENVIRONMENT
‘Environmental contaminants’
After decades of pollution, Brunswick residents have a new source of funds to investigate the link between area Superfund sites and their health, The Current’s Jabari Gibbs reports.
A five-year, $15 million grant from the National Institutes of Environmental Health (NIH) has been awarded to Emory University to examine how environmental contaminants affect human health, following a 2023 pilot study involving approximately 100 Glynn County residents, according to the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health.
Glynn County is home to four of Georgia’s 23 Superfund sites, industrial areas that the federal government has designated as highly contaminated and requiring monitoring and ongoing cleanup.
NEWS: NOTES & UPDATES
ICYMI
- A ballot image audit of more than 2 million ballot cards cast from the 1st round of primary voting finds no discrepancies in 99.9924% of the ballots cast, the office of Georgia’s secretary of state says.
- U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson discuss their Christian faith.
- FEMA announces federal grants for flood mitigation in Pooler and Bryan County, the office of U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter says.
- U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms to hold rally in Savannah on June 27.
- The timing is right for one of Georgia’s two Democratic senators,” Politico writes under the headline, “The 2028 Democratic Ticket May Already Be Taking Shape.”
- Only 3% of individuals detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during the first 14 months of the second Trump administration had a violent felony conviction, ABC reports.
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Governor’s race splits Coastal Georgia Republicans
Two Coastal Georgian Republicans, Holly Kesler and Jeanne Seaver, have split over who should be the Republican nominee for Georgia’s Governor, with Kesler backing Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and Seaver supporting health care executive Rick Jackson.
How to gerrymander, or not
A lesson in lines as Georgia’s Republican leaders are considering how to redraw congressional and state legislative districts to maximize their party’s representation.
Liberty County meeting draws over 200 to debate wastewater discharge locations
The Liberty County Development Authority hosted a public information session to discuss the proposed wastewater discharge pipe, with many residents expressing concerns about the potential environmental impacts on the Laurel View and North Newport Rivers.
Absentee ballot delays in Chatham County put some runoff votes at risk
Chatham County voters have experienced delays in receiving their absentee ballots, potentially causing them to lose their right to vote in the upcoming election.
Georgia election audit reveals higher error rate in hand-marked ballots
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said that the majority of errors identified in post-election audits came from hand-marked paper ballots, and that QR code voting scanners fared better than hand-marked paper ballots.
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