by Dave Williams | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – More than 1 million Georgians have cast their ballots during the first four days of the early voting period, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office reported Friday.
“We have done it! We crossed the 1,000,000 voter mark at around 11:50am. Amazing turnout! So happy for the counties and the voters! Let’s keep it going,” Gabriel Sterling, the agency’s chief operating officer, posted on social media.
The record numbers of early voters are occurring despite the impact of Hurricane Helene late last month in South Georgia and the Augusta region. Raffensperger told reporters early this week that local election officials in the affected areas managed to overcome disruptions from the storm and got their early voting locations prepared in time for the start of early voting on schedule.
On Tuesday, the first day of the early voting period, more than 300,000 ballots were cast, starting the record momentum that has carried through the week and allowed Georgia to eclipse the 1 million mark on Friday.
Georgia is one of seven “battleground” states in this year’s presidential election, along with Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin in the Middle Atlantic and Midwest; and the Sunbelt states of North Carolina, Nevada, and Arizona.
Former President Donald Trump holds a small lead over Vice President Kamala Harris in Georgia, according to a number of polls.
Early voting in Georgia will continue through Nov. 1, four days before the Nov. 5 election.
