ATLANTA, Ga. — Georgia voters set a record Tuesday for the opening day of early voting in a midterm election, with nearly 189,000 ballots cast across the state, according to the secretary of state’s office.
That first-day total topped opening-day turnout in the 2022 midterms by more than 50,000 votes. Early voting runs through Oct. 30, and Election Day is Nov. 3.
Voters who showed up also met a new step at the check-in table. Under a new State Election Board rule, poll workers must handwrite each voter’s name on a numbered list after checking that voter in. The rule is meant to help election officials keep accurate voter records and create a paper record of who cast a ballot.
The ballot is crowded with high-profile contests, including the races for governor and U.S. Senate, along with lieutenant governor, secretary of state and other down-ballot offices.
Both parties pushed early turnout on day one. U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, the Democrat seeking reelection against Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, voted Tuesday morning and urged supporters to make a plan rather than wait for Election Day. U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock cast his ballot and appeared with Democratic nominee for governor Keisha Lance Bottoms in Decatur.
On the Republican side, Gov. Brian Kemp campaigned Monday near Augusta with Republican nominee for governor Rick Jackson and told supporters the party needs to win the early voting battle.
Ossoff and Warnock both voted at polling places in northeast Atlanta, and Ossoff headed that evening to an 8 p.m. debate with Collins that aired on Georgia Public Broadcasting.
Early voting is available in all 159 Georgia counties. Hours and locations are set by each county election office.
