Georgia voters more than double first-day record for early voting

ATLANTA — Georgia voters shattered a first-day record for early voting Tuesday as the state prepared to play a critical role in the hotly contested presidential election.

By late afternoon, more than 281,000 Georgia voters had already cast ballots, far more than the 136,000 voters who cast ballots on the first day of early voting in 2020 and the 134,000 who voted on the same day in 2022.

The big turnout came as former President Donald Trump visited Georgia on Tuesday for a rally and a town hall meeting and as Vice President Kamala Harris prepares to visit later this week. Polls show the race deadlocked in Georgia and other swing states, and many voters grasped the significance of their ballots.

DeKalb County resident Denise Holliday said she waited about two hours to vote for Harris.

“This election is critical to the democracy of our country,” Holliday said. “I’m still traumatized by Trump’s last presidency.”

Savannah’s Diane Harwell voted for Trump, citing his positions on abortion and the U.S.-Mexico border, and his frequent references to God and country. She went to the polls first thing Tuesday for what she considers “one of the most important elections in history.”

Georgia counties will offer at least 16 days of early in-person voting in advance of the Nov. 5 general election — some also offer additional Sunday voting. The final day of early in-person voting will be Nov. 1, the Friday before Election Day.

If Tuesday is any indication, the state’s 8.2 million registered voters may turn out in record numbers this year. Voters’ enthusiasm was evident.

Tresa Hester and Wendy Hunter spent weeks ahead of the start of early voting registering voters in the Savannah area.

They found college students among the most receptive to their call, and on Tuesday they were outside the Savannah Civic Center polling location to cheer on the early voters.

Wearing T-shirts that said “Overload the POLLS,” they were thrilled to see two Savannah College of Art and Design students they had helped register go in to cast their ballots. A SCAD dormitory sits across the street from the Civic Center.

Many voters had strong opinions about the presidential contenders.

Dan Mitchell of Atlanta cast his ballot for Trump at the Buckhead Library. Comparing Trump’s performance as president with Harris’ performance as vice president, the retired 71-year-old said that Trump is the “better choice for the country.”

DeKalb resident Allen President cast his ballot for Harris because he doesn’t trust Trump. President, who served as a soldier in Vietnam, said Trump jeopardized the country’s safety through his cozy relationship with Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

Many voters believed the stakes of the election go beyond the policies of their favored candidate. Some Trump supporters worried about voting fraud as the former president continues to claim the last election was stolen. Numerous state and federal investigations have found no evidence to support the claim, and two recounts confirmed Democrat Joe Biden’s victory.

Nonetheless, Richard Mullis, a retired barber in Macon, worried that Democrats might rig this year’s election.

“The Democrats are so desperate,” Mullis said. “I think they will do absolutely anything and everything to hold onto their power.”

Democrats had their own worries. Chris Rauch, a painting and carpentry contractor in Middle Georgia, voted for Harris.

“I don’t want an authoritarian government,” Rauch said. “Freedom’s important to me.”

Tuesday’s high turnout was evident early on. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced nearly 72,000 people had voted by 10:30 a.m.

“It looks like this is going to be a record-breaker for the first day of early voting,” Raffensperger said at a press conference at the Georgia Capitol.

Any doubt about a record turnout was obliterated by noon, when the total for voters surpassed 122,000. By 2:30, turnout surpassed 200,000 and kept on climbing. About 58% of respondents to a recent Atlanta Journal-Constitution survey said they planned to vote early in person, while 33% preferred to vote at a precinct on Election Day and 5% favored voting absentee by mail.

The heavy turnout came despite Hurricane Helene, which threatened to undermine voting in parts of Georgia when it struck three weeks ago. Raffensperger’s office said only a handful of counties were struggling to relocate early voting sites.

“When you think back to where we were 2 1/2 weeks ago, this is a cause for celebration,” Raffensperger said. “So many people said, ‘What’s going to happen? There’s no way you’ll have elections starting in Georgia on time.’ ”

Though Raffensperger was in a celebratory mood, some Georgians cast their ballots with an eye toward what might happen after the votes are counted.

Stephanie Moses voted for Harris at the Buckhead Library. She’s concerned about the fairness of this year’s race but believes Harris is the right candidate to “keep democracy fair.”

“I just pray that once everything is confirmed and final, there will be peace,” the Delta Air Lines employee said.

Alden Horton, a sophomore business management major at Georgia College and State University, voted for Trump in Chatham County. Asked whether he thought the results would be contested by the losing candidate, he didn’t hesitate.

“I’d bet on it,” he said.

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(Staff writers Michelle Baruchman, Adam Beam, Sara Gregory, Caleb Groves, John Kovac Jr., Fletcher Page, Matt Reynolds, Adam Ban Brimmer and Reed Williams contributed to this article.)