Georgia Sets a First-Day Early Voting Record of About 185,000 as a Wisconsin Court Rules on Late Mail Ballots

About 185,000 Georgians voted on 13 October, the first day of in-person early voting, according to unofficial figures from the Secretary of State’s office. That’s more than 50,000 above the first day of the 2022 midterms, which itself set a record.

Georgia has a Senate race between Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff and his Republican challenger, and an open governor’s race, both rated competitive. Early voting runs until 30 October. Long lines were reported in parts of metro Atlanta, with some voters waiting more than an hour.

The state’s election rules have changed since 2022. The State Election Board added hand-count and certification rules, some of which courts struck down. The US Postal Service’s cuts to collection and pickup times, covered in our earlier post, have pushed election officials to urge voters to return mail ballots in person or early.

Wisconsin

In Wisconsin, a court ruled on ballots that arrive after Election Day. State law requires mail ballots to arrive by the close of polls, and the ruling keeps that deadline in place. With postal delays, the arrival deadline is the main risk for Wisconsin voters who mail ballots in the final week.

Why it matters

High early turnout is an early sign of a high-turnout midterm, though early voting has grown each cycle and shifts votes earlier more than it adds new ones. For the federal government, the numbers set the context for the Justice Department’s election push, its monitors and its claims about non-citizen voting, all of which will meet record numbers of voters in states whose officials, Republican and Democratic, say the system is working.