How high will election day turnout go? 800K votes recorded so far
Turnout in the U.S. Senate runoff was on pace to easily exceed 1 million voters Tuesday but likely fall short of the number of voters seen in last month’s general election, according to Georgia election officials.
An estimated 800,000 voters had cast their ballots as of 2 p.m., with five hours left before polls close, said Gabriel Sterling, chief operating officer for the secretary of state’s office. The election day turnout adds to nearly 1.9 million early and absentee voters.
“We are seeing no lines and pretty sizable turnout,” Sterling said during a press briefing. “Keep in mind that in the general election, we only had 1.4 million voters altogether on election day.”
Election day turnout favored Republican Herschel Walker, who won 56% of the vote on Nov. 8, while Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock won 54% of early and absentee voters.
Overall, nearly 4 million people voted in the general election.
Walker’s campaign is counting on a large election day turnout to try to make up for likely deficit among early voters.
About the Author
Mark Niesse is an enterprise reporter and covers elections and Georgia government for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and is considered an expert on elections and voting. Before joining the AJC, he worked for The Associated Press in Atlanta, Honolulu and Montgomery, Alabama. He also reported for The Daily Report and The Santiago Times in Chile.
