ATLANTA, Ga. — Georgia heads into the last stretch of early voting with close to a quarter of its active voters already done. State turnout figures show 1,781,209 ballots accepted through Oct. 26, ahead of the Nov. 3 general election.
Most of that came at the polls. The Secretary of State’s unofficial dashboard counted 1,698,469 in-person voters and 82,740 accepted absentee ballots, together about 23.7% of the state’s 7,530,073 active voters. More than 800,000 of the ballots arrived during the past week alone, the office said.
In-person turnout is running ahead of the last midterm. Opening day on Oct. 13 set a record with 188,667 ballots, roughly 40% more than the 2022 opener. A week later, the in-person count stood 12% higher than at that stage of the last midterm, according to state election officials.
Mail voting is a different story. Absentee requests reached 164,750, far below the more than 285,000 filed in 2022, and the deadline to ask for one passed on Oct. 23.
Older Georgians are leading the way so far. Voters ages 60 to 64 make up the largest single age group in the data, followed closely by those 65 to 69.
The top of the ballot is drawing national attention. Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff is defending his seat against Republican Rep. Mike Collins, while the governor’s race pits Republican Rick Jackson against Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms. Both campaigns brought in high-profile surrogates over the weekend, and more visits are expected this week.
Early voting runs through Friday, Oct. 30. Registered voters who wait can still cast a ballot at their assigned precinct on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, and can check locations, hours and sample ballots on the state voter portal.
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