Georgia breaks early voting records, while over 4.9 million across US have already cast ballots

Georgia continues to break state records for early voting, while over 4.9 million voters across the U.S. have already cast ballots as of midday Thursday.

In Georgia, over 134,000 voters reportedly cast early ballots Tuesday, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger says. 

The number represents a 3.3% increase over the second day of early voting two years ago, in the 2020 presidential election cycle, according to Georgia Public Broadcasting, a local PBS affiliate. Early voting in the state started Monday.

The turnout for midterm voting is historically less than in presidential election cycles.

Georgia also reportedly surpassed 2018 voter turnout records on its first day of balloting. 

The 4.9 million early-voting total from across the country — 781,105 for in-person and 4.16 for mail-in ballots — is from the United States Election Project website.

The group also reports 39.4 million mail ballots have been requested.

The 2022 midterms is the first election cycle since Georgia's Republican-controlled General Assembly passed election integrity legislation that replaces the state's signature-match verification process for absentee ballots with a photo ID requirement and sets new rules for the location of absentee ballot drop boxes.

Raffensperger and other GOP leaders say the strong early voting numbers show the new law is not suppressing votes, as Democratic critics have claimed.

However, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams argued that Georgia's record numbers are the result of her party overcoming the changes.

"It does not mean voter suppression doesn't exist," Abrams told supporters Tuesday during a rally in southeastern Atlanta, GPB also reports. "But we’re stronger, better, and faster than it."