Are more Georgians voting or just voting earlier? Experts weigh in.

More than 2.5 million Georgians have already cast ballots ahead of Tuesday's general election, setting a new midterm early in-person voting record as voters head to the polls Friday for the final day of advance voting.

According to the Georgia Secretary of State's Election Data Hub, 2,513,780 ballots had been cast as of early Friday morning, representing 33.4% of the state's 7,530,664 active registered voters. The figures are unofficial and will continue to change as election officials update their records.

The latest numbers represent an increase of more than 111,000 ballots from Thursday afternoon, when the state reported 2,402,526 ballots cast.

On Thursday, Secretary of State officials announced that Georgia had already surpassed its 2022 midterm early in-person voting record. At that point, 2,294,275 ballots had been cast in person, exceeding the 2,289,951 recorded during the entire 2022 early voting period.

Blake Evans, elections director in the Georgia Secretary of State's Office, said the record reflects a longstanding preference among Georgians for casting ballots before Election Day.

"What we know about Georgia voters is that Georgia voters really like to vote early, especially in the higher turnout elections," Evans said.

He pointed to the 2022 general election, when nearly 4 million Georgians voted, including approximately 2.5 million who cast ballots early or absentee.

"And so over half of the turnout came before election day," Evans said. "And so I would expect a similar trend here that we're going to have well over half our turnout be before we get to Tuesday's election."

Metro Atlanta counties have contributed significant numbers of early ballots.

As of Thursday morning, Fulton County had recorded more than 278,000 ballots, followed by DeKalb and Cobb counties with more than 195,000 each. Gwinnett County had surpassed 193,000, while Cherokee County reported more than 71,000.

Those figures represent ballots cast, not county-specific turnout percentages.

The state's voter demographic data also offers a look at who is participating.

According to the Secretary of State's October 29 dashboard, more than 1.2 million ballots were attributed to white voters and more than 712,000 to Black voters. Another 212,000 were categorized as other or unknown. The dashboard also reported nearly 65,000 ballots from Hispanic or Latino voters and more than 56,000 from Asian or Pacific Islander voters.

Those numbers reflect the state's reported demographic classifications at the time of the update, rather than turnout rates within each group.

Michelle S. Hite, an associate professor of literature, media and writing at Spelman College, said economic pressures, education, health care, immigration and access to polling locations are among the issues shaping conversations about the election.

"So the issues that we talk about in abstract terms, when you're not the 1%, you encounter those issues as lived," Hite said. "They're not abstractions."

Hite said students have also organized around access to voting locations, demonstrating how election issues can affect people differently depending on their experiences and circumstances.

"Same thing is true about voters, right? Like even if we share the same race or cultural background, it doesn't mean that our experiences and our aspirations for the future, our understanding of our neighbors' needs and our relations to them are the same," Hite said.

Despite the large number of early ballots, Hite cautioned against assuming the figures necessarily indicate an increase in overall voter participation. Some voters may simply be casting their ballots earlier than they did in previous elections.

She said she is watching whether the concerns voters have expressed about everyday expenses and government policies translate into participation through Election Day.

Friday marks the final day of advance voting in Georgia.

In Gwinnett County, 13 advance voting locations are scheduled to operate from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. Voters can cast ballots at any advance voting location within their registered county during the early voting period.

On Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, voters must report to their assigned precinct. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Evans said Georgia law requires election officials to report early voting results and absentee ballots received by Monday no later than 8 p.m. Tuesday. Additional Election Day results will be reported as counties complete their counting procedures.

That deadline does not guarantee that every race will be decided by 8 p.m.

Voters returning absentee ballots must ensure they reach their county elections office by 7 p.m. Tuesday. A postmark alone does not satisfy the deadline.

Voters can check their registration status, assigned polling place and other election information through Georgia's My Voter Page.