Georgians voted at near presidential election rates on Tuesday.
About 57 percent of registered voters cast ballots in the race to determine Georgia’s next governor, lieutenant governor and several legislative and congressional races.
Voter turnout traditionally drops in years where a presidential candidate is not on the ballot.
Of the 6.4 million registered voters, 3. 9 million voted in Tuesday’s election — the highest rate in a midterm election year in recent history, according to secretary of state records.
Tuesday’s turnout neared that of recent presidential elections. In 2016, 63 percent of registered voters participated in the election.
In 2010, the last time there was no incumbent running for governor, 45 percent of registered voters cast ballots. That rate dropped to 43 percent in 2014.
The turnout matches this year’s early voting numbers.
About 2.1 million voters cast ballots early this year, a new high for a midterm election in Georgia. Early turnout more than doubled from the last midterm election in 2014, when about 954,000 people cast advance ballots.
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