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Douglas County expects voter turnout record as state passes million-vote mark in runoff

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Updated  November 30, 2022 6:30pm EST
2022 Midterm Elections
FOX 5 Atlanta

Early voting continues in Georgia runoff election

Nearly 1 in 7 eligible voters have cast ballots for either Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock or Republican challenger Herschel Walker.

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ga. - Georgians are packing polling precincts throughout the state with early voting underway.

Nearly 1 in 7 eligible voters have already cast their ballots ahead of the Dec. 6 Georgia runoff election in the race for U.S. Senate between incumbent Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker.

In Douglas County, the turnout is even higher with roughly 1 in 5 people already voting.

POLL: WALKER, WARNOCK DEADLOCKED IN GEORGIA RUNOFF ELECTION

They have the highest turnout in the state for counties with more than 100,000 people.

"If you don't vote, nobody knows what you think," said Rennea Avery-Graham.

Hundreds of thousands have turned out statewide for this runoff, but in Douglas County with a voting population of just under 97,000, roughly 20% have voted early.

The Georgia Secretary of State's office says the turnout is the highest for a county with a population of more than 100,000

"I'm really happy to know that our Douglas County residents are doing their job and coming out and putting this on their agendas," Avery-Graham said.

When all is said and done, Douglas County will have offered the most days to vote in this runoff than any other county, and because of that, they expect to break a turnout record for a runoff election.

"There have been lines," said Milton Kidd, Douglas County Election Director. "The lines in most cases have been under an hour for most people, but most days of elections we actually average about a 30-minute wait time."

It's not just in Douglas County, but statewide. Gabriel Sterling from Georgia’s Secretary of State's office says both sides are getting their bases to vote.

"They're doing everything short of grabbing them from the scruff of the neck and dragging them to the polls because they want to get those votes this is all about turnout," Sterling said. "This is nothing about persuasion anymore."

On Wednesday afternoon, Sterling announced that more than 1 million Georgians officially cast ballots in the runoff.

The runoff is firing up both sides to hit the polls early and in Douglas County, they are helping lead the charge.

"I think early voting is super important so that you can beat the lines and it just makes me very proud of my county that we're the highest," said Olivia Robinson.

Election officials say while the rain kept some people away Wednesday, they expect turnout to pick back up again Thursday and Friday statewide. Of course, you can always vote on Election Day on Tuesday.