According to officials in Georgia, the state saw a record-breaking number of early voters on Tuesday, October 15th, with over 300,000 ballots cast on the first day of early voting.
Georgia’s Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, announced through his Chief Operating Officer, Gabriel Sterling, on the social platform X that the Peach State had shattered previous early voting records.
Sterling wrote, “The first day of early voting set a record, along with absentee voting, we have received over 328,000 ballots so far.” He highlighted that the previous record was set in 2020 when 136,000 people chose to vote early.
In another post, Sterling mentioned, “Over 300,000 voters participated in the elections today, a 123% increase from the previous record on the first day. Voters from all counties, well done!”
Raffensperger emphasized that despite the damage caused by Hurricane “Helene,” the state was working tirelessly to ensure early voting could commence and absentee ballots could be delivered as scheduled. “Helene” wreaked havoc in parts of North Carolina, Florida, and Georgia, posing a threat to the voting process.
Raffensperger stated in a press conference, “Considering the situation two and a half weeks ago, this (referring to the day’s voting record) is truly worth celebrating. Many people were saying, ‘What will happen? The elections in Georgia definitely won’t start on time.'”
He added that all 159 counties in the state had started early voting on time.
On Tuesday night, a judge in the state ruled that the requirement for manual counting on election night would not take effect before the November elections.
In the 2020 election, Joe Biden narrowly defeated former President Trump by less than 12,000 votes, winning the state of Georgia.
Currently, Vice President Kamala Harris and Trump are engaged in a fierce battle in Georgia, which is considered one of the battleground states of this election. According to the Hill/Decision Desk HQ, the former president leads Harris with 48.3% compared to her 47%.
Georgia is one of the seven battleground states with the highest percentage of African American voters deciding the presidential election on November 5th.
In a report by Reuters on September 8th, Vivian Childs, a staunch supporter of Trump and an African American Baptist pastor, shared her experience on winning African American voters in Georgia at Trump’s new office in Valdosta, Georgia in August. She emphasized focusing on Trump’s economic policies, illegal immigration issues, and inflation problems.
She stressed the need to inform voters about what Trump has done for them and the reforms he will bring to America. She said, “We are the party of hope, we are the party of truth.”
Trump himself acknowledged that Georgia had become a must-win state and believed he had secured it until Harris became his Democratic opponent in July.
Harris’ late entry into the race ignited public enthusiasm, with polling in Georgia showing a neck-and-neck race between the two candidates, a significant shift from early July polls that had Trump leading Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden by as much as 6 percentage points.
In the 2020 election, Trump and his allies questioned the accuracy of the election results and made efforts to impede or at least delay the confirmation of Joe Biden’s victory by various states and the U.S. Congress. During this period, local election officials played a crucial role in certifying the vote counts.
Therefore, in August of this year, the Georgia State Election Board passed new wording on the certification process with a 3-2 vote. The revised rules stipulate that “certification” means confirming vote counts as “true and accurate” after a reasonable investigation. The Board also granted county election officials the authority to “review all election-related documents.” The Democratic National Committee argues that, under Georgia law, local officials have a “mandated” duty to certify. The party states that any action expanding the limited powers of these officials, such as confirming the “numerical accuracy” of ballots or resolving discrepancies between precinct counts and voter numbers, is illegal.
(This article referred to reports from The Hill)