Georgia voters sprinted to the polls during the first week of early voting, setting daily in-person turnout records with total turnout exceeding 1.4 million ballots cast.
Each day brought new highs in early turnout, including during weekend voting. Nearly 164,000 people voted Saturday and more than 42,000 on Sunday.
With two weeks to go before Election Day on Nov. 5, turnout has already reached 28% of the total in the 2020 presidential election, when 5 million people voted.
The large showing by Georgia voters reflects high interest in the presidential race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, but it’s impossible to know who is leading at this point. Votes won’t be counted until Election Day, and voters in Georgia don’t register by political party.
In all, more than 1.3 million people voted in person at early voting locations, and an additional 81,000 voters have returned absentee ballots.
Total turnout is down about 9% from 2020, due in large part to the number of voters who cast absentee ballots before the start of early voting that year when the COVID-19 pandemic kept many away from the polls.
Early voting is available through Nov. 1, so at least 11 more days of early voting remain across Georgia, including Saturday. Eighteen counties offered Sunday voting, which is optional. The first day of early voting was the busiest, with 313,000 voters.
Many of this year’s voters didn’t participate in the 2020 election. About 219,000 voters — 15% of the total — who didn’t vote four years ago cast ballots last week.
Older Georgians dominated early and absentee voting, with 70% of turnout coming from voters over 50 years old. Younger voters tend to vote closer to Election Day.
Women are outpacing men in early voting, accounting for 55% of turnout.
Voters can find early voting locations, view sample ballots and check their registration information on the state’s My Voter Page at mvp.sos.ga.gov.
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