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Georgians 'blow away' previous turnout record on 1st day of early voting

By FOX 5 Atlanta Digital Team
Published  October 18, 2022 6:03am EDT
Georgia
FOX 5 Atlanta

First day of early voting shatters 2018 numbers

Elections officials say voters are far outpacing turnout this year compared to previous elections.

ATLANTA - Day two of early voting in Georgia hasn't kicked off yet and election officials say voter turnout has already outpaced numbers from the previous midterm election.

The Georgia Secretary of State's chief operating officers says more than 125,000 voted on day one of early voting yesterday.

In the 2018 midterms, 72,000 Georgians turned out on the first day.

"As of 4:15 we have seen over 100,000 Georgians cast their votes early. This blows away the previous midterm first day record of approximately 72,000 and we have lots of voting to go today," Gabe Sterling, the Secretary of State's COO, said in a tweet.

AT GEORGIA DEBATE, ABRAMS AND KEMP CLASH ON ABORTION, CRIME

More than 4 million people could vote in the state’s elections this year, and if past patterns hold, more than half are likely to cast ballots before Election Day. Nearly 2.7 million Georgians voted early during the 2020 general election. 

Georgia gubernatorial debate

As early voting kicked off, candidate for Georgia's governor took to the debate stage.

This is the first year that Georgians will head to the polls under a new law passed by the Republican-led legislature following the party's defeat in the 2020 presidential election.

The 98-page bill in Georgia contained dozens of changes to state voting law. They include shortening the time to request a mail ballot, rolling back the pandemic-driven expansion of ballot drop boxes and reducing early voting before runoff elections.

The law also made it a misdemeanor to hand out food or drinks to any voter standing in line, and limits voters’ ability to cast a provisional ballot if they go to the wrong precinct. It also allows any Georgia voter to challenge the eligibility of an unlimited number of other voters within the same county.

There will be at least 17 days of early voting, starting on the Monday that is 22 days before Election Day until the Friday before an election. 

Voters turn out to cast their ballots as early voting begins on October 17, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images)

The law requires counties to have at least two Saturdays of early voting, with the option of offering voting on Sundays as well.

Voters in Georgia can already send in ballots by mail, with more than 1,000 received by Friday through the mail. More than 200,000 people have requested mail ballots already, with an Oct. 28 deadline to request them. 

Early voting in the state wraps up Nov. 4 with the Election Day set for Tuesday, Nov. 8.

For early voting, voters do not need to vote at an assigned polling location in their county. You can find all available early voting locations by visiting the Georgia Secretary of State's website and choosing your county.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.