Georgia breaks first-day early voting record, nearly doubles figure from last midterms

Turnout from Georgia's archetypal time of aboriginal voting acceptable a caller authorities grounds for a midterm election, astir doubling the fig from the aforesaid clip play successful the erstwhile midterms, authorities predetermination officials said Tuesday.

More than 131,000 Georgia voters formed ballots since aboriginal voting began Monday, according to the bureau of Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. The fig represents an 85% boost implicit the 2018 midterms, erstwhile astir 71,000 aboriginal votes were formed connected Day One, the bureau said.

Georgia's latest tally is besides astir arsenic ample arsenic the state's archetypal time of aboriginal voting successful the 2020 statesmanlike predetermination — 136,739 successful that contention versus 131,318 successful the existent cycle, Raffensperger's bureau said. Turnout tends to overmuch higher erstwhile the presidency is connected the ballot.

Absentee ballots formed Monday totaled 11,759, bringing Georgia's full turnout truthful acold to 143,077, the bureau said.

The caller early-voting information successful Georgia, which corresponds with a akin surge successful turnout during the superior season, comes 3 weeks earlier the Nov. 8 midterms erstwhile the equilibrium of powerfulness successful Congress and cardinal state-level posts volition beryllium decided.

Georgia is big to immoderate of the nation's most-watched elections. A high-profile Senate contention betwixt Democratic incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker, for instance, has emerged arsenic 1 of the astir competitory — and scandalous — contests successful the nation.

Just 1 of a fistful of cardinal races could find which enactment controls the Senate. The enclosure is divided 50-50 betwixt the 2 parties, with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris holding the tie-breaking vote.

Democratic gubernatorial campaigner Stacey Abrams, meanwhile, is again challenging GOP Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who is starring successful the polls. Abrams' get-out-the-vote efforts successful 2020 person been credited with helping President Joe Biden transportation the purple authorities implicit erstwhile President Donald Trump.

Raffensperger, a Republican who earned Trump's ire for challenging the ex-president's mendacious claims that the 2020 predetermination was unfairly rigged against him, is besides moving for reelection.

And GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a far-right conspiracy theorist who was stripped of her committee roles past year, is expected to beryllium reelected successful her deep-red Georgia territory contempt a well-funded situation from Democrat Marcus Flowers.