Vote Early Day created to boost turnout in Georgia and nation

The first national Vote Early Day will be held Saturday, Oct. 24, an effort to drive turnout ahead of Election Day in November.

The first national Vote Early Day will be held Saturday, Oct. 24, an effort to drive turnout ahead of Election Day in November.

A new holiday is being added to the calendar: Vote Early Day.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, along with more than 65 election officials and organizations, announced Tuesday they created Vote Early Day to encourage turnout nationwide before Election Day on Nov. 3.

The first Vote Early Day will be Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020, which is 10 days before the presidential election.

“The more people that vote early, the less chance you have of standing in a longer line,” Raffensperger said. “Our goal on Election Day in November is to keep those lines 30 minutes and shorter.”

Raffensperger and California Secretary of State Alex Padilla are supporting the Vote Early Day effort, saying it will make it easier to vote, especially for those with work and family responsibilities during the week.

Most states have in-person early voting options, including Georgia.

Georgia offers three weeks of early voting. Early voting for the Georgia presidential primary is underway and lasts until March 20, with Saturday voting available statewide this weekend. Election day for the presidential primary is March 24.

So far, more than 150,000 people have cast ballots early in Georgia, either at in-person locations or by mailing absentee ballots.

Other backers of Vote Early Day include MTV, Univision, Twitter, PayPal, the NAACP, The League of Women Voters and more.