More than 123,800 votes have been cast so far in Georgia for the upcoming general election, according to early voting totals compiled Tuesday by the Secretary of State’s Office.
The totals so far put Georgia on a far slower pace than four years ago, when the state first expanded early voting in time for the 2008 presidential election.
Tuesday’s total included absentee ballots returned by mail and ballots cast during the state’s early “in-person” voting period, which began Monday.
More than 58,630 voters had cast in-person ballots statewide by Tuesday. More than 65,220 absentee ballots had been cast by mail, according to the state.
An additional 99,799 absentee ballots were requested by voters but have not yet been returned. They were not included in the totals.
The Georgia Legislature expanded early voting in 2008 to allow anyone to vote early without having to state a reason within 45 days of the election. By Oct. 17 of that year, Georgians had cast more than 635,000 early votes as the state surged to a record.
More than 2 million Georgia voters — or 53 percent of all those who voted — cast ballots before Election Day in the November 2008 general election, either in person or by mail. Only 13 percent did so in 2004.
The state has held off making a prediction for this year. But a poll conducted last week for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution showed that nearly 40 percent of likely Georgia voters said they plan to cast a ballot during early voting, compared with 54 percent who plan to wait until Election Day.
According to Tuesday’s totals, the five counties with the highest turnout so far were Fulton (10,886); DeKalb (10,627); Cobb (8,073); Gwinnett (6,980); and Chatham (2,798).
Early voting is ongoing across the state ahead of the Nov. 6 election. Local voting times and polling locations can be found at the Georgia secretary of state’s website, www.sos.ga.gov.
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