Georgia Sec. of State urges patience during final week of early voting

ATLANTA - With a week left until Election Day, more than 2.8 million Georgians have already cast their ballots in the November election, shattering previous records.

According to data from the Georgia Secretary of State's Office, only 1.3 million people had voted by this time in 2016. 

"Your vote is important and it matters.  That is the important message I want voters to hear," said Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

In a news conference at the state Capitol Monday, Sec. Raffensperger warned Georgians that he expects the volume at the polls to grow during the last week of early voting.

"As we head into the final week of early voting, we expect even more higher turnout than we've seen so far," Raffensperger explained. "With that, there may be lines.  Expect lines--long lines." 

VOTING IN GEORGIA 2020: Registering to vote, absentee ballots, and more

He also urged the 640,000 voters who requested but not yet returned their absentee ballots to do so sooner rather than later.

The last day of advance in-person voting is October 30 and absentee ballots must be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day to be counted. 

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