Georgia voters exceeded expectations on Friday, shattering the 2.5 million mark for ballots cast prior to Election Day. Georgia’s record-breaking early turnout ended with 2,288,889 voters casting their ballot during early voting, with 231,063 showing up on Friday, November 4th.
Friday’s in-person total was 6% higher than the final day of early voting in the 2020 Presidential election.
Early Voting in this election far exceeded the total from 2018, which saw 1.8 million voters cast their ballots and was within striking distance of the 2.6 million who cast their ballot early in 2020 at the height of the pandemic.
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Northeast Georgia voters contributed to the high turnout, with over 51% of the voters in Rabun and Towns counties casting ballots ahead of election day. Habersham County recorded a nearly 43% early voter turnout. Of the 167,365 votes cast in the below-listed counties, 91% (152,317) were cast in person. There were 15,408 absentee ballots returned and accepted.
In Georgia, voter turnout is based on the number of active registered voters.
“Georgia voters came out in near Presidential-level numbers,” says Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. “County election directors handled that demand with the utmost professionalism. They navigated a whole host of challenges and executed seamlessly. They deserve our highest praise.”
Despite the high early voter turnout, local election officials are now bracing for what is expected to be a very long and busy Election Day.
Polls across the state open at 7 a.m. Tuesday and will close at 7 p.m. Voters who received absentee mail-in ballots have until 7 p.m. on Election Day to return them to their county election office.
As of Friday, over 75% of the absentee ballots issued statewide had been returned. Voters should check the My Voter Page or their county website for information on in-person return options.
Voters who did not cast a ballot during early voting are encouraged to check the My Voter Page for the most up-to-date Election Day information.
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