South Fulton Today

Following a loss in the state's Republican primary election for Georgia's 10th Congressional District, Vernon Jones is pushing for a law that would forbid open-primary voting in the state.

In a study of early voting records from 2020's primary elections in Georgia, The Associated Press discovered that over 37,000 voters who had voted in the Democratic primary in 2020 voted in the Republican primary this year, Fox 5 Atlanta reported.

"This needs to be done and it needs to be done now," Jones said during a news conference at the state Capitol this week. "Republican voters should be deciding Republican primaries. Democratic voters should be deciding Democratic primaries."

Georgia does not distinguish by party when it registers voters, allowing voters to cast ballots for whichever party they choose, Fox 5 Atlanta reported.

Democratic political strategist and Georgia Gang panelist Tharon Johnson told Fox 5 Atlanta that in North Georgia, where Republican candidates don't generally face significant competition, zones such as the 10th District often see crossover votes from Democrats.

"These are not strong democratic voters, these are people we call swing voters," Johnson said. "They have voted previously in a democratic primary or a republican primary."

Jones lost the 10th District Republican primary to Mike Collins recently, but will face him again in June 21's runoff election, Fox 5 Atlanta reported.