Early voting has officially closed, and more than half of registered voters in Cobb County have already cast their ballots ahead of Tuesday’s presidential election.
310,000 people--58 percent of voters--returned mail ballots or turned out in person to vote in the weeks before Election Day, a new record for the county, part of Georgia’s fiercely contested battleground suburbs.
In 2016, 38 percent of Cobb voters cast ballots during the entire early voting period, a total of 160,000 people at the time.
The highest single day of turnout so far this year was Friday, the last day of early voting, when 14,000 people cast votes.
Cobb Elections Director Janine Eveler said she was pleased with the outcome of the early voting period.
“I think more people will vote absentee in the future than did before, now that they have learned how easy it is,” she wrote in an email. “The high early voting turnout will hopefully make [Nov. 3] voting a little easier as well.”
In addition to the presidential race, Cobb has important local elections happening Tuesday, including for county commission chair, sheriff, district attorney and state lawmakers. Voters will also be asked to weigh in on state constitutional amendments. Check out the AJC’s voter guide here.
*This article was corrected to reflect that 58 percent of Cobb voters have cast ballots, according to the Cobb Elections Director. An earlier version quoted a county website that said 54 percent had voted.
