Over 2.7 million Georgia residents have made their voices heard during early voting as of Oct. 26. The early voting period, which runs through Nov. 1, has seen approximately one-third of Georgia’s active voters cast their ballots, according to the Secretary of State’s office.
According to 11 Alive, Black voters are responsible for 34% of that total, comprising 704,561 votes, behind the 1,616,565 white voters, who make up 45% of the total voters. That figure for Black voters, however, represents a lower turnout than in the 2020 election, when 32% turned out at this point last election.
In keeping with political scientists’ predictions, women have outperformed men so far, making up 55.7% of voters compared to 44.1% for men.
Although older voters lead the way, there has been a slight increase in the turnout rate of the 18-24 age bracket. In 2022, a mid-term election year, Georgia had a 26% youth voter turnout, which has nearly been matched as of Oct. 28, coming in at 22.3%.
According to Fox 5 Atlanta, 94% of the state’s nearly three million ballots were cast in person.
Per the Secretary of State’s office, there have been few reported instances of long lines at polling places, although some people reported waiting more than 30 minutes at some of the more popular locations in the state.
According to CNN, in 2020, Democrats enjoyed a wide margin over Republicans in 2020’s early voting period, but that could shift this election.
According to The New York Times, the five states with the highest percentage of ballots cast during early voting are North Carolina (42%), South Dakota (42%), Georgia (40%), Vermont (35%), and Florida (34%). Nationally, only 21% of voters have utilized early voting, which tracks, as most Americans typically wait until Election Day, Nov. 5, to cast their ballots.
The Times also noted that during the 2020 election, it was easier to cast a vote because of the pandemic, which may have contributed to the increased support for President Joe Biden.
However, restrictive voting laws passed by several Republican states, including Georgia, have stripped away that expanded participation.
According to Vox, early voting numbers are not necessarily valid predictors of what will happen on Election Day, particularly in a race where many polls have made it clear that no candidate has a decided advantage over the other.
Meanwhile, Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock expressed to Politico his concerns over what former President Donald Trump may do or orchestrate if the election doesn’t go his way this time around.
“Honestly, I am worried that Donald Trump may do this time what he did the last time, and that is to challenge the legitimacy of an election whose outcome he does not like. The peaceful transfer of power is a hallmark of the American system of government. Never before have we seen the losing presidential candidate behave as Donald Trump did,” Warnock said.
He continued, “And right now, on the ground in Georgia, we witnessed over the last few weeks a state board of elections trying to set the table, as it were, for not certifying an election if they don’t like the results. Gladly, the courts have rejected their efforts. They then appealed. The courts rejected it again. But the spirit of that is in the air in Georgia, Pennsylvania, all over the country. And so we will have to remain vigilant.”
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