Tyler Perry: My Ballot for Georgia Senate Runoffs Got Lost in the Mail

Tyler Perry, Stacey Abrams, and U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., pose for a photo on the red c
Elijah Nouvelage/Invision/AP
Warner Todd Huston

Entertainment mogul Tyler Perry says he applied for a mail-in ballot for January’s Georgia Senate runoff elections, but it never arrived, and he had to fly back home to vote.

Speaking to CBS This Morning on Tuesday, Perry talked about a range of topics. But at one point, the Atlanta-based director and producer noted that his mail-in ballot seems to have been lost in the mail.

CBS host Anthony Mason broached the topic saying, “Tyler, you made a point of announcing that you were flying back to your home state to vote in the Georgia runoff election. Bet you’re glad you did now, huh?”

Perry replied, “Yeah, for sure. Listen, I still don’t have the absentee ballot.

“They said it would be sent out December 4. We’re still waiting for it — still waiting for it. I’m glad I came back,” he said.

According to state election law, an absentee or mail-in ballot for the Georgia runoff had to have reached the Secretary of State’s office by January 1, or the Friday before election day, to count as a legal vote.

Mason added that Perry had noted that he flew back to Atlanta on Election Day. “The reason you went back, you applied for an absentee ballot, but as you said, it never came. But Stacey Abrams gave you some advice?” the anchor asked.

“Yeah,” Perry replied. “And it was really simple. She said show up, tell them you want to cancel your absentee. I walked in, I had to sign an affidavit, and I voted in person. There wasn’t a line, and it all worked out, but yeah. I’ll let you know when that absentee ballot shows up.”

“Let me tell you, Tyler,” CBS host Tony Dokoupil added, “as somebody who has done a little reporting on vote by mail, that thing is never coming. But your vote counted, so that’s all that matters.”

Perry did not merely vote in the Georgia runoff election, resulting in two new Democrat Senators taking their seats in Washington. Perry lent his name and fame to the left-wing “New Georgia Project” to get the Democrats elected this month.

On Election Day, Perry posted a video for the activist group urging Georgians to get to the polls.

Perry, who can now boast a billionaire net worth, delivered a powerful Emmys speech about achieving success on his own terms.

After being honored with the Governors Award at the 2020 Emmys, Perry spoke of a handmade quilt that his grandmother gave him when he was in his late teens. He noted that he did not value it very much despite the hundreds of hours it took his grandmother to sew it.

But years later, he finally came to understand just how symbolic the quilt was. “Whether we know it or not, we are all sewing our own quilt with our thoughts, our behaviors, our experiences, and our memories,” he said.

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