Georgia early vote crushes previous midterm records

By Oct. 29, two days before the final early-voting day, Georgians had cast 2,294,275 in-person early votes — surpassing the 2022 midterm record of 2,289,951 in-person votes, which took 15 days to build. The first day set the pace: 188,667 voters showed up in person on Oct. 13, about 40 percent more than the first day of the 2022 midterm and a new first-day midterm record.

Roughly 37.5 percent of Georgia's 7,531,501 active registered voters had already cast ballots. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, crediting record turnout and county election officials, said, "Georgia voters deserve the highest praise."

Who showed up

• White voters made up about 52.6 percent of early ballots, down from 58.2 percent at the same point in 2022.
• Black voters made up about 32.4 percent, up from 30.2 percent at the same point.
• Hispanic or Latino voters were about 3.7 percent and Asian or Pacific Islander voters about 2.9 percent.
• White voters — roughly 57 percent of registrants — were under-represented in the early vote, while Black voters, about 30 percent of registrants, were over-represented.
• Women cast about 56 percent of early ballots and men about 44 percent in the final days.
• More than 310,000 Georgians ages 18 to 29 voted early — about 11 percent of the total — while voters 50 and older cast nearly 65 percent.
• Roughly 15 percent of early voters had not cast a ballot in 2022, including more than 110,000 younger early voters who were new to a midterm.

Where the record is

• Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties together supplied nearly 40 percent of the statewide early vote.
• Henry County hit 85 percent of its 2022 early-vote total, Clayton County increased 16.1 percent compared with 2022, and Rockdale County hit 83 percent.
• Early voting rose faster in some metro suburbs and Republican-leaning counties such as Cherokee and Forsyth than in many rural counties.
• In the northeast mountains, Rabun County cast roughly 6,000 early votes — more than 41 percent of its registered voters. On day one, though, Rabun's 3.2 percent turnout trailed Towns County's 4.3 percent and Union County's 3.6 percent.
• On the coast, Chatham County finished early voting with 63,766 ballots, Glynn County with 20,949, and Camden County with 10,735. Earlier in the period, Glynn's turnout ran about 26.2 percent, above Chatham's 18.2 percent, while coastal counties averaged more than 20 percent.
• In northwest Georgia, Catoosa County recorded 15,222 early votes (31.5 percent of active voters) and Walker County 12,416 (27.3 percent), both trailing the statewide rate near 37.5 percent.
• Among seven South Georgia counties, Tift County had the highest share at 26.7 percent and Atkinson County the lowest at 20.8 percent, while Lowndes County posted the largest raw total at 21,687 ballots.

Who is still quiet

Not every county kept pace. In Coffee County, early voting compared with the county's total 2022 general-election votes was down by 56.3 percent, and early voting in Colquitt and Laurens counties was also down by double-digit percentages from 2022. Voters under 30 still made up only about 11 percent of the early vote.

What you can still do

Early voting has closed, so your remaining option is in-person voting on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3. Georgia polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and anyone in line by 7 p.m. is still allowed to vote.

You must cast your ballot at your assigned precinct. Confirm your polling place, registration status, and a sample ballot through the Secretary of State's My Voter Page at mvp.sos.ga.gov. Bring a valid photo ID: a Georgia driver's license (even an expired one), a U.S. passport, a Georgia voter identification card, a Georgia or U.S. government employee ID, a U.S. military ID, a tribal photo ID, or a student ID from an eligible Georgia public college or university.

Still holding an absentee ballot? It must reach your county elections office by 7 p.m. on Nov. 3 to be counted.