Metro Atlanta

DeKalb sets early voting record with more than 180K in-person ballots cast

DeKalb County residents vote early at the future Stonecrest City Hall in Stonecrest, Georgia, on Saturday, October 24, 2020. (Rebecca Wright for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
DeKalb County residents vote early at the future Stonecrest City Hall in Stonecrest, Georgia, on Saturday, October 24, 2020. (Rebecca Wright for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Oct 30, 2020

On the penultimate day of early voting, DeKalb County set a new record for the number of ballots cast in-person before election day.

Between Monday, Oct. 12 and Thursday, Oct. 29, DeKalb’s dozen early voting locations tallied 182,431 ballots, according to data provided by the county. The prior in-person record, a little less than 180,000 votes, was set during the 2016 presidential election’s early voting period.

In addition to ballots cast at early voting locations, DeKalb officials received 110,957 absentee ballots as of Thursday. That brings the total number of early votes cast in DeKalb to more than 293,000, surpassing 2016′s total by more than 100,000 votes.

That number is expected to go up further once Friday’s ballots are counted, ending the state’s early voting period before the Nov. 3 election. Turnout has been high across Georgia, and the state has already recorded 3.6 million total votes, which is 50% more than in 2016.

There are also more than 33,000 absentee ballots that have yet to be returned in DeKalb. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger suggested taking them to an official county drop box for absentee ballots instead of sending by mail. To be counted, absentee ballots must be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day.

DeKalb Election Day polling... by Tyler Estep

Advance in-person votes cast per day in DeKalb County:

• Monday, Oct. 12: 15,914

• Tuesday, Oct. 13: 12,888

• Wednesday, Oct. 14: 13,202

• Thursday, Oct. 15: 13,196

• Friday, Oct. 16: 13,655

• Saturday, Oct. 17: 6,997

• Sunday, Oct. 18: 4,856

• Monday, Oct. 19: 11,069

• Tuesday, Oct. 20: 10,534

• Wednesday, Oct. 21: 10,305

• Thursday, Oct. 22: 9,054

• Friday, Oct. 23: 10,014

• Saturday, Oct. 24: 7,242

• Sunday, Oct. 25: 4,899

• Monday, Oct. 26: 9,271

• Tuesday, Oct. 27: 9,537

• Wednesday, Oct. 28: 10,557

• Thursday, Oct. 29: 9,241

Advance in-person votes cast in the first week of early voting in DeKalb County by polling place:

• Agnes Scott College: 16,088

• Berean Christian Family Life Center: 14,905

• Coan Recreation Center: 12,681

• CORE4 Atlanta: 14,163

• County Line-Ellenwood Library: 7,667

• Dunwoody Library: 15,497

• Former Sam’s Club in Stonecrest: 19,669

• The Gallery at South DeKalb: 14,806

• House of Hope Atlanta: 6,151

• Lynwood Recreation Center: 13,711

• Reid H. Cofer Library: 20,279

• Voter Registration and Elections Office (Memorial Drive): 26,814

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About the Author

Zachary Hansen, a Georgia native, covers economic development and commercial real estate for the AJC. He's been with the newspaper since 2018 and enjoys diving into complex stories that affect people's lives.

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