The November 3 General Election is now just three weeks away, and already the state is breaking voting records.
Early in-person voting began Monday across much of Georgia. The Secretary of State’s Office said 126,876 voters cast ballots, setting a record for a first day of early voting. The previous record was about 90,000 voters.
There were some glitches with the poll books used to sign in voters at some precincts, and many voters waited in line for hours at larger precincts, but state elections officials say those long lines at the polls had nothing to do with any systematic failure, but the sheer volume of people voting, reports WSB-TV.
About a dozen or so people showed up at the Aquatic Center in Clarkesville on Monday to cast their ballots and were disappointed to learn the polls weren’t yet open. Habersham and White counties were among the counties that delayed early voting until Tuesday, October 13, because of the Columbus Day federal holiday.
More than 400,000 Georgians have cast absentee ballots, exceeding the overall total cast in the 2016 presidential election. A record number of Georgia voters, over 5 million, are expected to cast ballots in the general election.
When and where to vote
Early voting in Habersham will take place from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays Oct. 13-30 at the Habersham North Precinct located at the Ruby Fulbright Aquatic Center in Clarkesville. Saturday voting will be held at that same location from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on October 17 and 24.
The Habersham South Precinct at First Baptist Church of Cornelia will be open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. during advanced voting week, October 26-30. Habersham South will also be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for Saturday voting on October 24 only.
All county precincts will be open on election day.
If you vote early, you may vote at either Habersham North or Habersham South. If you wait until election day to vote, you must vote at your assigned precinct. If you’re unsure where that is, you can check your precinct and registration status at https://www.mvp.sos.ga.gov/MVP/mvp.do
For early voting dates, times, and locations in other counties, contact your local election officials. Contact information is available through the Georgia Secretary of State’s website at https://elections.sos.ga.gov/Elections/countyelectionoffices.do.
This article has been updated
