US state of Georgia reports record turnout on first day of early voting

The state of Georgia has reported a record turnout on the first day of early voting in the United States elections, revealing a high level of engagement in the key battleground state.

Hours after polls opened in the southern state on Tuesday, election officials reported that more than 251,000 voters had already cast their ballot in person.

One of several races on the ballot is the high-profile showdown for the White House: Vice President Kamala Harris — the Democratic presidential candidate — is set to face off against her Republican rival, former President Donald Trump.

Tuesday’s voter tally in Georgia blew away the state’s previous record for the first day of in-person early voting, set in 2020. That year saw 133,000 residents show up to vote.

“As of 4pm [ET] we have crossed the quarter million mark with 251,899 votes cast. Spectacular turnout. We are running out of adjectives for this,” Gabriel Sterling, the chief operating officer for the Office of the Georgia Secretary of State, posted on X.

Historically, large turnouts for early voting have favoured Democrats, although both parties have been urging voters to go to the polls early in states where it is allowed.

US presidential elections are ultimately determined through a weighted voting system called the Electoral College.

Each state has a certain number of Electoral College votes to award, and most grant those votes in a winner-takes-all system: Whichever candidate wins the state — no matter how small the margin — receives all the Electoral College votes.

Georgia, with its 16 Electoral College votes, is one of seven tightly-fought “swing states”, which could lean either Democrat or Republican this election cycle. Other battleground states include Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, Nevada and North Carolina.

Close races in those states could determine who becomes the next president.

Eyes on Georgia

Tuesday’s tally has been interpreted as a sign of voter enthusiasm, particularly as the presidential race enters its final stretch. Election day — the final opportunity to cast a ballot — is set for November 5.

Both Harris’s and Trump’s campaigns have set their sights on winning Georgia. Trump rallied in its capital, Atlanta, on Tuesday, and Harris is set to hold her own event in the city on Saturday.

In 2020, President Joe Biden became the first Democrat to win the state since 1992, a victory largely attributed to a huge uptick in Black voting. Black residents account for about one-third of Georgia’s population.

But with a margin of victory of just 11,779, the state also became a key lever in Trump’s campaign to overturn Biden’s victory.

In the wake of the 2020 election, Trump infamously pressured Georgia’s top election official to “find” more votes, and he actively spread misinformation that the ballot tally was marred by election fraud.

The Republican leader was subsequently indicted on state racketeering charges in relation to his alleged efforts to overturn the vote.

The pending case, led by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, will not go to trial before the 2024 election. Nevertheless, recent polls show Harris and Trump remain locked in a neck-and-neck race in the state.

Some Democrats fear that an apparent softening in Black voters’ support for Harris could help tip the race.

While Black residents overwhelmingly support Democratic candidates, a recent poll from The New York Times and Siena College showed Harris polling at lower levels than Biden did in 2020.

In turn, Trump’s campaign has increasingly sought to appeal to Black voters, whom critics say Democrats have taken for granted.

Trump’s claim that migrants are taking “Black jobs” has become a mainstay of his stump speech.

Harris has also made a concerted effort to appeal more to Black men. Earlier this week, she released a policy plan that would include giving forgivable business loans to Black entrepreneurs, more support for studying diseases that disproportionately affect African-American men and legalising marijuana on the federal level.

“Black men have long felt that too often their voice in our political process has gone unheard and that there is so much untapped ambition and leadership within the Black male community,” the Harris campaign said upon releasing the proposal.

Court ruling

Meanwhile, questions about the validity of Georgia’s election proceedings, fuelled by Trump’s false claims of fraud, have continued to hang over the state’s vote.

On Monday, Fulton County Superior Judge Robert McBurney ruled that local election board members could not refuse to certify election results in any situation.

That came in response to a local election board member’s request that the court rule that the certification is discretionary.

The request stoked concerns that some election board members — particularly those who have cast doubt on the 2020 results — would refuse to certify results in their counties.

Such a refusal would have wide-ranging implications in an election that could come down to just a handful of votes.

McBurney also blocked a new Georgia State Election Board rule that would have required districts to hand-count ballots.

Election experts have warned the approach is actually less accurate than machine counting and could create long waits for a final tally. That, in turn, could help to fuel doubt and conspiracy theories about the election results.