Georgia kicks off last week of early voting ahead of Nov. 8 election

More than a million people had already cast votes heading into the weekend, with totals trending slightly ahead of the early vote count four years ago when Georgians last voted for president. In 2012, half of the nearly 2 million people who voted before Election Day cast ballots in the last week early voting was available.

On Saturday, multiple counties across the state reported lines forming even before polling locations opened in the morning. By mid-afternoon, wait times still stretched past two hours in some places while other locations reported little to no waits that got voters in and back out the door in under 10 minutes. There were no reports of major problems.

A handful of counties will open polls voluntarily today, including Fulton and DeKalb in metro Atlanta and Richmond and Chatham in areas across the state. Early voting then continues through Friday, the state’s deadline for early ballots. Polls will be closed next weekend and Nov. 7. They re-open 7 a.m. through 7 p.m. on Election Day.

Most counties in the metro area starting this Monday will also open additional early voting locations in anticipation of greater interest in the last week it’s available. Still, for many voters, casting ballots on the weekend offered a convenience over a harried weekday work schedule.

Others just wanted to be done with the election, especially with intensifying campaign efforts just days from Election Day. No voter interviewed Saturday said news such as FBI Director James Comey's disclosure Friday of emails possibly related to the agency's investigation of Hillary Clinton's private server had any effect on their decision.

“No,” said Kamille Harless, 39, of Smyrna. “My decision’s pretty much been made up for a while so no, it didn’t.”

Final totals from the weekend will be available Monday. Anecdotally, turnout seemed strong.

Cobb County Elections Director Janine Eveler — who was at the Cobb County Civic Center greeting voters at the door — expected at least 2,000 voters at that site alone, with the county’s main elections office also open Saturday.

DeKalb County elections officials, who reported more than 7,600 early voters on Friday alone, opened three locations Saturday and reported voters were in line before the polls opened at 7 a.m. at the county’s main elections office on Memorial Drive but quickly got in and started voting.

Eight locations were open in Gwinnett County, where wait times varied from 35 minutes to two-and-a-half hours. Fulton County had 24 sites open. At Northside Library in Atlanta’s Buckhead, poll workers reported a steady stream of voters using the site’s eight machines but wait times hovered only around a minute or so. Voters reported little to no wait at the Southwest Arts Center in south Fulton.

“It’s just easier for me because I work, just like a lot of people work — so giving two or three hours on a weekend is a lot easier than giving two or three hours of my time on a weekday,” said Noel Hollis, 28, of Marietta, who joined the fray early at Cobb’s civic center by waiting in line for about two hours.

Some voters including Michael Schwarz, 58, and Hilary Harp, 56, of Vinings, decided against the wait. “We’re definitely going to vote, but we’ll just do it another time,” Schwarz said.

Others said it didn’t bother them.

“I was afraid the lines were going to be too long on Tuesday, the actual voting day, and I’m just ready to get it over with,” said Kerstin Strayer, 37, of Smyrna, about her decision to vote Saturday, which included a two-hour-and-ten-minute wait. “I stuck it out. I’m a proud, dual citizen: I’m American and German. And I had to do some stuff to be American, I had to apply for it, I had to be accepted. So I go to every vote and I’m very proud of that. I’m OK with sticking it out for two or more hours.”