About 16,000 Georgia voters turned out at the start of early voting for the presidential primary, similar to the first voting day in the last primary four years ago, according to state election data.
Voting went smoothly Monday, with no lines at polling places, and participation is expected to increase during three weeks of early voting, culminating in Georgia’s election day March 12.
Eleven Republicans and three Democrats are on the ballot in Georgia, including the front-runners, Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden. All registered voters are eligible to vote in either party’s primary.
While the number of Day 1 voters on Monday mirrored the 2020 presidential primary, overall turnout was much higher in the previous election because so many people returned absentee ballots during the COVID-19 pandemic.
About 18,000 people voted on the first day of early voting in February 2020 before the presidential primary was delayed, and then 15,500 people voted when early voting restarted in May. By that time, about 450,000 voters had already returned absentee ballots.
A total of 2 million people participated in Georgia’s 2020 presidential primary, and turnout reached 5 million in the November 2020 general election.
Early turnout was lighter in 2016, when fewer than 7,000 voters went to the polls on the day they opened for the presidential primary. But by the time it was over, 2 million people voted in the 2016 primary.
Voters can find polling places, voting hours and sample ballots on the state’s My Voter Page at mvp.sos.ga.gov.
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