Providing more opportunities for registered Georgia voters to cast ballots is the right thing to do.

U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock’s campaign, along with other Democratic entities, sued the state to allow for Saturday voting ahead of the Dec. 6 runoff.

Warnock faces Republican challenger Herschel Walker in the runoff race. A runoff election occurs when no candidate garners the mandatory 50% plus one vote in Georgia in the regular election.

But, as the law stands, voters cannot vote their choice on the second Saturday before a runoff if the preceding Thursday or Friday are state holidays.

Saturday, Nov. 26, is two days after Thanksgiving this year and one day after a state observed holiday for Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s birthday.

The lawsuit was filed to change that.

“Republicans are once again attempting to rig the system to disenfranchise voters’ right to participate in our democracy,” said Christie Roberts, executive director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. “Democrats are committed to fighting back against the Republican campaign of voter suppression and protecting the right of Georgians to early vote on Saturday.”

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has accused Warnock and Democratic allies of trying to change Georgia law right before an election based on their political preferences.

”If recent elections prove one thing, it’s that voters expect candidates to focus on winning at the ballot box — not at the courthouse,” Raffensperger said. “Instead of muddying the water and pressuring counties to ignore Georgia law, Sen. Warnock should be allowing county election officials to continue preparations for the upcoming runoff.”

The suit came in response to what many people consider to be a response to the 2020 presidential election.

Georgia’s new election law, approved by Republican lawmakers in 2021, limits the amount of time allowed for runoff voting.

In addition to the rule on Saturday, the law shortened the runoff period from at least two months, to one month after the general election.

Recall the Senate runoff election following the November 2020 election was two months later in the early days of January 2021. Warnock and fellow Democrat Sen. Jon Ossoff won that dual Senate runoff.

But adding additional weeks, or a Saturday, to a runoff election is no guarantee that either party will win.

It is a guarantee that more legally registered voters have the opportunity to vote.

More than 22,000 Lowndes County voters cast ballots during the three-week early voting period leading up to the Nov. 8 general election this year.

Likely, those 22,000 votes represent large numbers of Democrat and Republican ballots … as well as voters who chose split-ticket options of both Democrat and Republican candidates.

Early voting is apparently popular and successful.

The state should provide more opportunities for registered voters to legally vote rather than curtailing voting opportunities.

Voting is the right thing to do. Allowing registered voters more opportunities to vote is the right thing to do.