With less than three weeks to the midterm elections, Georgians are already casting their ballots at a rapid pace — with Tuesday’s vote totals beating records set in the 2020 presidential election for the second day of early voting and to almost double the 2018 total number of early votes rise the same point.
The outcome of the Georgia Senate campaign could be crucial in determining the balance of power in Washington.
As Georgia entered the third day of early in-person voting on Wednesday, over 291,700 people voted — 268,050 in person and 23,690 absent. In 2020, the number of early votes after the second day was 266,403, and in 2018 it was 147,289, according to the Secretary of State’s office.
“We are delighted that so many Georgians are able to cast their ballots in record numbers and without reports of significant delays,” said Georgian Foreign Minister Brad Raffensperger. “This is a testament to the hard work of Georgia’s poll workers, the professionals who make our elections convenient and safe.”
Georgia’s second day of early voting marks a 75.3% increase from the same point in the 2018 midterm early elections and a “staggering” 3.3% increase since the second day of early voting in the 2020 presidential election, the top elections official said state.
People use voting machines to fill out and cast their ballots when early voting for the midterm elections begins at the Citizens Service Center in Columbus, Georgia on October 17, 2022.
Cheney Orr/Reuters
University of Florida professor Michael McDonald, who oversees the school’s US elections project, said midterm elections typically produce far fewer voters than in years when presidential elections are held, although recent figures indicate a growing trend of turnout in indicate the last few cycles.
The state reached a total of 131,318 on Monday, its first day of early voting. That’s slightly less than the total of 136,739 in 2020 and significantly higher than the 70,849 figure in 2018.
“We reviewed turnout yesterday and set a first half day for early voting and we nearly hit the record for a presidential election,” Gabe Sterling of the Georgia Secretary of State’s office said in a tweet.
Georgia has a number of critical midterm elections on the ballot this election cycle, with fiercely contested contests for the Senate, House of Representatives, governor’s seat and position of secretary of state.
The state was pushed back in 2021 when Republican Gov. Brian Kemp – who is currently up for re-election against voting rights activist Stacey Abrams – signed a sweeping election bill that Democrats widely saw as restrictive, noting that the legislation tightened rules on mail-in voting. The requirements also imposed to try to keep polling routes shorter and increase the availability of poll workers.
Voters will cast their ballots when early voting begins October 17, 2022 in Atlanta. Georgia early voting runs from October 17th to November 4th.
Megan Varner/Getty Images
Nationwide reports show that queues have mostly been short so far, although some voters have waited up to an hour to vote. In one of Georgia’s largest counties, Gwinnett, wait times at the county’s registration and voting office were about 30 minutes. Many other polling stations have no waiting times at all.
The new election law also restricts drop box locations, shortens voting times and days, and bans serving food and drink to voters waiting in line. State party leaders say the election numbers show people overcoming barriers, not that they don’t exist, and argue voter suppression doesn’t equate to turnout.
Primary voter turnout this year — the first test of Democratic predictions that the bill’s increased requirements could limit voting — surpassed previous voting records, leaving Republicans to dismiss the allegations.
“[Stacey] Abrams and President [Joe] Biden lied to the people of Georgia and the country for political reasons,” Raffensperger said. “From day one I have said that Georgia’s electoral law balances security and access, and the facts have proved me right.”
Esosa Osa, the associate general manager of Fair Fight — founded by Abrams in 2014 — said that as voter turnout increased in Georgia, so did turnout between white and black voters.