Heading into election day Tuesday, nearly 440,000 people have already voted in Georgia’s presidential primary, and most of them have cast Republican ballots.
Early voting ended Friday with a turnout of about 416,000 in-person voters during the past three weeks, according to state election data. An additional 24,000 voters have returned absentee ballots.
Turnout in this year’s presidential primary is lower so far than in 2020, when a more competitive Democratic Party race drove voter participation and Republican Donald Trump was seeking reelection. Before election day four years ago, 1.2 million people had voted, most of whom returned absentee ballots during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year, the Republican race has drawn more interest, with Trump and 10 other candidates on the ballot seeking to challenge incumbent President Joe Biden in November. Biden faces two opponents in the Democratic primary. Trump and Biden are essentially guaranteed nomination for a fall rematch after dominating the primary season.
About 284,000 Georgians have chosen Republican ballots compared to over 155,000 Democratic ballots cast. Georgia law allows any registered voter to participate in either party’s primary regardless of their political leanings.
While early voting turnout this year trails voter participation in the presidential race four years ago, it’s slightly higher than in the 2016 presidential primary that featured Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton.
The presidential primaries will allocate delegates for each candidate before they’re nominated this summer at the Democratic convention in Chicago and the Republican convention in Milwaukee. The winners will face off in the November general election.
Voting locations will be open across Georgia from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on election day Tuesday.
Voters can find their precincts through the state’s My Voter Page at mvp.sos.ga.gov.
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