Georgia sees record-breaking voter turnout for 1st day of primary elections
Early voting is underway across Georgia in the midterm primary election, and the state is seeing a surge in turnout at the polls.
The Georgia Secretary of State's office reports that the first day of early voting broke records in the Peach State for a midterm primary election.
On Monday, 35,352 Georgians cast their ballots in person, an increase of 29% compared to the 2022 primary, which saw 27,298 voters cast ballots on its first day. Both are a massive jump from the 9,266 Georgians who voted at the start of the 2018 primary election.
Officials say they also accepted 1,732 absentee ballots on Monday.
Of those votes, the most updated records of unofficial turnout on Tuesday show that over 23,000 registered Democrats have cast a ballot. More than 16,000 Republicans and nearly 700 non-partisan voters have also gone to the polls. Tuesday's numbers showed that nearly 41,000 Georgians, or 0.6% of the state's active voters, have participated in the primary so far.
"This record-breaking turnout is proof that Georgians trust our election process," said Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who is running for the Republican nomination for governor in the election. "My office is in constant coordination with county election officials to ensure early voting continues to run smoothly."
Early voting in the primary continues through May 15. The general primary election takes place on May 19.
If you are registered to vote, you can vote at any early voting location in your county. You can find a list of early voting locations on the Secretary of State's website.
Georgia residents who wish to vote early must bring a valid photo ID, such as a driver's license or passport, to the polling place.
You can see who will be on the ballot for the primary election here.