Early voting soars ahead of Georgia's 6th district special election

Nearly 55,000 voters cast ballots ahead of Tuesday’s special election for Georgia’s 6th District congressional seat, data from the Secretary of State’s office show.

Early voting in the race to replace former Rep. Tom Price ended Friday.

Secretary of State Brian Kemp’s office said almost 50,000 ballots were cast in person while another 5,000 were mailed-in absentee ballots.

RELATED: Special elections are also being held in Roswell and two new metro cities, South Fulton and Stonecrest

An additional 4,500 requested mail-in ballots have yet to be returned.

The 6th Congressional District covers parts of each of those three counties and features 18 candidates.

Turnout for special elections are usually tricky to predict. The last time a special election was held in the same congressional district in 1999, it drew more than 79,200 voters.

Some local voters say they've had enough of the hotly contested race for an open seat in Congress.

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Aaron Gould Sheinin

Today’s primary could help determine how much you pay for electricity

It’s the first time Georgia’s approximately 8.4 million registered voters have had the opportunity to vote in a Public Service Commission primary election in three years.