ATLANTA — There is now less than a month until Georgians decide who controls the balance of power in Washington, D.C.

Georgia voters will be able to walk into early voting sites starting next week to cast their ballots in the U.S. Senate runoffs. Turnout is expected to break records and feature thousands of new voters.

Cayce Sherer, 17, didn’t get to vote for president or senators on Election Day in November. But she turns 18 this week and the first election she’s eligible to vote in will have high stakes.

“This one has a huge impact specifically in the runoff. So I feel really glad to be part of it,” Sherer said.

She is one of an estimated 23,000 new voters eligible to register for the Senate runoff races. The registration deadline ended on Monday. Anyone who will be 18 on or by Jan. 5 was eligible to register.

GEORGIA VOTER GUIDE:

• Key Dates for 2020 Runoff Elections in Georgia
• How to vote by absentee ballot for Georgia’s U.S. Senate runoff elections

“Candidates and campaigns have to fight for every vote,” said Nse Ufot with the New Georgia Project.

Ufot said her group focused on registering young voters and thousands of others before the deadline.

“We’re talking about people who moved into the state and didn’t register by the early October, voter registration deadline who are now eligible. We’re talking about formerly incarcerated Georgians,” she said.

Joe Biden narrowly beat President Donald Trump in Georgia, according to the state’s newly re-certified election results. The races between Senate candidates are expected to be incredibly tight as well.

“History is on our side, you know, Republicans tend to do better in runoff elections,” said Gabe Hartwig, the president of Atlanta Young Republicans.

Hartwig said he’s hoping traditionally strong Republican turnout will benefit the two sitting senators.

“We’ve been doing door to door get out the vote. We’re trying to turn republican people that are already going to vote Republican, turn them out to vote,” he said.

In 2008, Republican Saxby Chambliss beat Democratic challenger Jim Martin by 15 points in the last Georgia Senate runoff race.

About 2.1 million people voted then. Today, more than a million people alone have already requested absentee ballots.

Young voters like Sherer say they’re ready for this election to shape the Senate in the short term and shape their voting habits forever.

“It’s going to encourage me to be able to vote every other election as well,” she said.