Georgia voters have already cast a record number of early ballots in this year's midterm elections — 2,691,841 in person by the close of early voting on Friday, and about 2.81 million in total once absentee ballots are counted — beating the state's 2022 midterm early-voting record in the Senate race where Senator Jon Ossoff's camp is touting the numbers and Republicans say their ground game will deliver on Election Day.
The Secretary of State's office said on Thursday that the 2022 in-person record of 2,289,951 had already fallen with a full day of early voting still to go. The pace was set from the start: 188,667 Georgians voted in person on the first day, against 134,962 on the first day in 2022. About 118,000 absentee ballots had been accepted by Friday, women cast 56 percent of the early ballots, and the state now has 8.2 million registered voters, up from 7.8 million in 2022. "This record-breaking turnout proves that voters have confidence in the integrity of our elections," Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said.
The race those voters are deciding is one of the biggest in the country: Ossoff, the Democratic incumbent, against Republican Representative Mike Collins, in a contest that could decide which party controls the Senate. The final Atlanta Journal-Constitution and University of Georgia survey put Ossoff ahead 48 percent to 40 percent. Independent analysis of who has already voted estimates Democrats lead among early voters by roughly 300,000, which means Collins would need about 63 percent of today's Election Day votes to catch up. That is the ground the two camps are fighting over: Ossoff's side points to the record lines as energy behind their man, while the Vance camp and Republicans say their voters traditionally turn out on the day itself and their ground game is on track. Early turnout shows who showed up — not who they voted for — and no ballot is counted until the polls close tonight.
For Georgia families, what is being decided today goes well beyond one seat: control of the Senate shapes the tax, energy and judges' votes that reach household budgets and paychecks. Voters who have not yet cast a ballot can still vote at their assigned polling place today, and the record early turnout means shorter lines for many who would otherwise have waited.
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