(NewsNation) — Georgia, one of America’s tightest swing states, broke its record for first-day early voting, according to a state official.
“This 1st day of early voting is a blowout,” Gabriel Sterling, chief operating officer for Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, posted on X.
As of 7:20 p.m. ET, 300,000 people had voted, Sterling said. On the first day in 2020, 136,000 people voted early.
“That’s 123% higher than the old record for the 1st day. Great job counties & voters,” Sterling said on X.
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Sterling said the average check-in time for voters was under one minute so far Tuesday.
Raffensperger added that the state has been working “overtime” to make sure early voting could start and absentee ballots could be sent out as scheduled.
“When you think back to where we were 2 1/2 weeks ago, this is a cause for celebration. So many people said, ‘What’s going to happen? There’s no way you’ll have elections starting in Georgia on time,’” Raffensberger said, adding that early voting started on time in all 159 counties in the state.
An aggregate of Georgia surveys compiled by Decision Desk HQ shows former President Donald Trump ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris with a 1.1% lead as of Tuesday.
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Hurricane Helene created new hurdles for voters and election officials alike in Georgia and North Carolina, threatening disruptions to the voting process — including power outages and road closures — in two of the most critical battleground states just weeks before Election Day.
But the Georgia secretary of state’s office had started working before the storm landed to prepare for any potential disturbances, communications director Robert Sinners told NewsNation partner The Hill last week.
“We have to let the first responders finish doing their jobs, but as power is restored and voting locations can be assessed, we will make sure that the upcoming election is safe, secure and convenient for all Georgia voters,” Raffensperger said at the time.
Last week, a federal judge declined to reopen voter registration in the state despite alleged disruptions noted in a joint complaint filed by the NAACP, the Georgia state conference of the NAACP and other advocacy groups.
NewsNation partner The Hill’s Juliann Ventura contributed to this report.