Today is the U.S. Senate Runoff Election for two Georgia seats, with voting polls closing soon. Democrats will need to win both seats to secure a 50-50 tie in the Senate to then allow Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris to cast the tie-breaking vote in favor of Democrats.

Runoff elections are often more difficult to encourage voter turnout due to the lack of presidential candidates on the ballot, and now there’s the added reality of a global pandemic. However, the momentum from the November election and presidential race, which did result in the selection of a new Democrat president after one term, is still strong and the opportunity to turn the Senate tide is high. A record 3 million people have already early voted.

In November, Georgia was flipped blue and Black women and activists, like Stacey Abrams and LaTosha Brown of Black Voters Matter, lead the charge by registering and educating thousands of Black voters. These women, and many others, work to fight a racist system of voter suppression that has been in place for decades. Suppression as recently as last month that involved cutting early voting sites in predominantly Black areas.

This election is pivotal in determining and improving the equity in pandemic relief, affordable housing, healthcare, wage/pay, better schools, and employment for the next four to eight years.