The Sunrise Report: It’s Election Day in Georgia

Good morning! Today is Jan. 5 and Georgia is in the midst of a tumultuous runoff election that will determine the balance of power in the U.S. Senate. It will also put an end to all those mailers and text messages you’ve been bombarded with. Here is what you need to know today.

Headlines:

• Donald Trump and Joe Biden were both in Georgia yesterday to campaign with Georgia’s candidates for senate.
• Election officials in Georgia — all republicans — were actively debunking Trump’s claims of voter fraud yesterday in an effort to try to convince republicans to vote in today’s election.
• Republicans in Georgia and throughout the country are split about a phone call where Trump asked Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” the votes he needed to win the state and to tell voters he had “recalculated” the votes.
• The New Year’s holiday turned deadly on Georgia’s roads. The Georgia State Patrol reported 13 deaths over the New Year’s holiday.
• Atlanta has seen an increase in violent crime. Here is what Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is doing about it.
• You don’t often hear of firefighters getting arrested, but a firefighter in Hartwell was arrested and charged with theft yesterday.
• A deputy in Henry County died from COVID-19.

Today:

Voters will cast their ballots today in two U.S. Senate races. One is between Republican Kelly Loeffler and Democrat Raphael Warnock and the other is between Republican David Perdue and Democrat John Ossoff. If you’re still not sure who you’re voting for, or woke up this morning and realized there was an election, here are some recent stories relating to the senate race.

• 
  Marjorie Taylor Greene Again Calls for ‘National Divorce’ After Killing of Charlie Kirk
• 
  Cherokee County Scores Win in Land Feud With Holly Springs
• 
  Brian Kemp is Deploying the Georgia National Guard to D.C.
• 
  Meet Roswell’s New Fire Chief Pabel Troche
• 
  ‘We Can’t Afford This:’ Walton County Residents Blast 20% Tax Hike
• 
  Roswell is Dismantling Historic Doc’s Café
• 
  Citizens’ Group Demands Resignation or Recall of Walton County Chairman Over Tax Hike
• 
  Judge Halts Fulton County Commissioners’ $10,000 Election Board Fine
• 
  Labor Day Office Closures in Harris County
• 
  Could Legalized Gambling Allow Georgia to Eliminate State Income Tax?
• 
  Roswell Says Property Tax Rate Will Stay the Same: Your Bill May Not
• 
  Glynn County Government Offices Closed Monday
• 
  Kemp Sends Georgia National Guard Out to Help ICE
• 
  Could Georgia Really Eliminate State Income Taxes?
• 
  Sonny Perdue May Get a $50,000 Per Year Pay Raise

Weather:

Temperatures will get up to about 52 degrees today with minimal chance for rain. You’ll want to vote during the day though. Evening temperatures will dip to 39 degrees and may hit freezing in the overnight hours.

Coronavirus: More than 6,000 Georgians are testing positive for coronavirus per day. The 7-day-average is the highest it has been in the state.