Georgia sees record early voting turnout during primary elections

ATLANTA — More Georgians went to the polls during the 2022 primary elections early voting period than ever before, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced over the weekend that the three-week voting period saw voters show up in record numbers.

In total, 857,401 Georgians cast their ballots ahead of election day. Nearly 93% of those ballots were cast in person. The remaining 7% were cast absentee.

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The Secretary of State’s office says these numbers show a 168% increase in early voting turnout from the last gubernatorial primary in 2018 and 212% increase from the last presidential primary in 2020.

Raffensperger credited the turnout to Georgia’s new Election Integrity Act, which many have called an act of voter suppression.

“The record early voting turnout is a testament to the security of the voting system and the hard work of our county election officials,” said Georgia Secretary of State Raffensperger. “The incredible turnout we have seen demonstrates once and for all that Georgia’s Election Integrity Act struck a good balance between the guardrails of access and security.”

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Reports from the Secretary of State’s office says more than 56% of the ballots cast were for the Republican primary, while 43% of ballots were Democratic. The remaining 0.6% of voters chose a nonpartisan ballot.

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Anyone who was registered to vote by April 25 will be able to vote in-person on Tuesday in the party primary of their choice or cast a nonpartisan ballot.

Click here to confirm your registration status and find your voting precinct.

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