Call Georgia the early voting state.
More Georgia voters cast their ballots in person before Election Day than any other state except Texas during the 2022 midterms, according to a new report from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.
Early voting continued to gain popularity in Georgia while absentee voting dropped to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels last year, with 58% of voters participating during the three weeks ahead of Election Day. About 36% of voters went to the polls on Election Day, and 6% returned mail-in ballots.
The amount of early voters in Georgia has steadily increased over the years, according to the Election Administration and Voting Survey 2022 Comprehensive Report published Thursday. During the 2018 election, six states had higher early voting rates than Georgia, where 48% of people voted early in person.
Georgia guarantees 17 days of in-person early voting before primary and general elections, including 15 weekdays and two Saturdays. County governments also have the option of opening polling places on two Sundays.
Election officials in Georgia opened 333 polling places for early voting and 2,430 locations on Election Day, the federal report said.
Nationwide, Election Day voting remains the most popular way of casting a ballot. About 49% of Americans voted on Election Day, 22% participated in person beforehand, and 29% returned mail ballots.
Overall, turnout in Georgia declined slightly in November’s election compared with the 2018 midterms, from 54% to 52% of the voting-eligible population participating. But Georgia had the highest turnout in the South and exceeded the nationwide 46% turnout rate.
