Big Georgia turnout in week one driven by in-person voters

In-person turnout was so high in the first week of early voting in Georgia that some days were busier than during the 2020 presidential election.

Through the first seven days of early voting, nearly 838,000 people had already cast their ballots, most of them at in-person voting locations. Absentee ballots have accounted for less than one-tenth of votes so far, though the numbers will increase as the 248,000 voters who requested absentees return them.

By the time polls close on elections night, state officials say total turnout could approach the 5 million voters in the 2020 presidential election.

While ballots won’t be counted until Election Day, state election data provides information about who has already participated as Georgia voters set new midterm turnout records daily.

• Women showed up at the polls at higher rates than men, accounting for 54% of turnout through Sunday.
• Turnout among both Black and white voters exceeded their share of the electorate, while early turnout was lower among Hispanic and Asian American voters. About 55% of voters were white and 33% were Black, while Hispanic and Asian American voters each accounted for 1.5% of turnout.
• Older voters were the largest age group during the first week of voting. About 45% of voters were at least 65 years old, and just 6% of voters were under 30.
• About 34% of voters so far cast Republican Party ballots in this year’s primary, and 32% voted on Democratic Party ballots. Georgia allows all registered voters to choose either party’s primary. One-third of general election voters so far didn’t participate in the primary.

Turnout for the week peaked on Friday with 141,000 voters. There were also 80,000 voters on Saturday, higher than the 66,000 voters on the first Saturday of in-person early voting during the presidential election two years ago.