Georgia sets record with over 300,000 votes as early voting begins in US

Georgia, a key battleground state, set a new record for early voting on Tuesday, with over 300,000 American voters casting their ballots for the US presidential election. This number is more than double the previous record of 136,000, set in 2020.

State officials reported that voter interest is particularly high as the state navigates the aftermath of Hurricane Helene and recent changes to election rules.

Gabriel Sterling, an official from Georgia's Secretary of State’s office, shared the news on social media, calling the turnout "spectacular".

"As of 4pm we have crossed the quarter million mark with 251,899 votes cast. Spectacular turnout. We are running out of adjectives for this. Proud of our elections team w/@GaSecofState, the counties' great work, and most importantly, the voters doing their job and showing up," Gabriel Sterling posted on X.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger praised the efforts of election workers.

“Every vote matters because every voter matters. We have been working overtime for the last two years since 2022 — counties have been working hard and we have been putting together our shoulder to the wheel to get it done,” Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger was quoted as saying by WRBL news in Georgia.

With over 7 million registered voters in Georgia, Raffensperger expects high turnout over the next three weeks of early voting.

He also mentioned a new system that will allow the state to audit all ballots, from the presidential race to local contests, by using human-readable text. “This builds trust,” he said.

The presidential race between Democrat Kamala Harris, 59, and Republican Donald Trump, 78, is drawing strong interest.

Trump, speaking at a campaign event in Atlanta, expressed confidence in the early vote, saying, "The votes are coming in at a nice level for us", reported Reuters.

Across the country, early voting is growing in popularity, with millions of Americans choosing to vote before Election Day. The US presidential election is set on November 5, with mere days left.

However, some Republicans remain concerned about mail-in voting, which has been a point of debate since the 2020 election.

Georgia has tightened its mail-voting rules since then, now requiring proof of identity and limiting where ballots can be dropped off.

In a related issue, a Georgia judge paused a rule that would have required election clerks to verify vote totals by hand-counting ballots in the 2024 election.