Overview
- Georgia recorded more than 188,000 in-person votes on Tuesday, a first-day total roughly 53,000 higher than 2022 that rose to nearly 200,000 by day two when accepted absentee ballots were included.
- More than 130,000 absentee ballots were issued and over 10,000 had been accepted early in the period, a flow of mailed votes that is already affecting the cumulative early-vote count.
- Poll workers are using a new manual check-in that requires handwriting each voter’s name on a numbered list after electronic check-in to create a paper trail and improve recordkeeping.
- The State Election Board passed a Sept. 30 resolution asking the federal government to urge the secretary of state to update voting machines before November and to remove QR codes within six months, a request that has drawn both support and criticism.
- With early voting running through Oct. 30 and absentee requests due Oct. 23, officials and campaigns are watching how high turnout and machine-security debates could shape tight U.S. Senate and statewide contests ahead of the Nov. 3 election.