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US Midterms 2026
17OCT

Georgia sets a midterm early-vote record

2 min read
17:30UTC

Georgia recorded 188,667 in-person votes on 13 October, the first day of early voting, more than 53,000 above the 2022 opening.

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PoliticsDeveloping
Key takeaway

Georgia's first day of early voting set a midterm record of 188,667 in-person votes.

Georgia recorded 188,667 in-person votes on 13 October, the first day of early voting, a midterm first-day record and more than 53,000 above 2022, according to the secretary of state's office as reported by FOX 5 Atlanta⁠1. By 15 October nearly 365,000 people had voted in person and more than 16,000 absentee ballots had been accepted, out of more than 7.5m active registered voters. The opening day still fell short of the 2024 presidential start of more than 310,000.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, the Republican who runs the state's elections, said voters "are just energized" and expects turnout to challenge 2022's near 4m. Georgia sent its first overseas ballots four days inside the federal deadline of 45 days before election day. Early voting runs to 30 October.

The Senate race on the ballot is lopsided on money. Senator Jon Ossoff, the Democrat, raised $28.71m in the quarter and held $26.27m; his Republican opponent, Representative Mike Collins, raised $2.36m and held $1.14m⁠2⁠3. That is about 12 to 1, in a race Cook Political Report already rates Likely Democrat.

Deep Analysis

In plain English

Many US states let people vote in person before election day. Georgia's early voting started on 13 October and runs until 30 October. The first day saw more voters than any previous midterm first day in Georgia. That shows strong interest, but it does not tell anyone who those voters chose.

Deep Analysis
Root Causes

Georgia's 2021 election law, SB 202, standardised weekend early-voting days across counties and tightened absentee ID rules. Both pushed more voters towards in-person early voting.

The parties now urge their voters to vote early, so that campaigns can strike banked voters off contact lists and spend the final days on the rest.

What could happen next?
  • Meaning

    Party ballot-chase operations in Georgia gain an early read on who has voted, which shapes where they spend the final fortnight.

  • Consequence

    High early turnout may test county staffing and equipment before election day itself.

Sources:FOX 5 Atlanta·Federal Election Commission·Federal Election Commission
Mentions:Georgia (U.S. state) →Brad Raffensperger →Jon Ossoff →Mike Collins →Cook Political Report →Atlanta →Donald Trump →Georgia →Texas →Florida →Raphael Warnock →
First Reported In

Update #20 · SLF's gifts to Texas PAC match Musk's to SLF

FOX 5 Atlanta· 17 Oct 2026
Read original →
Causes and effects
Caused by
Georgia mails its first overseas ballots
Georgia sent overseas ballots in September before opening record early voting.
Occurred 15 Sept 2026
Read story →
YouGov puts Ossoff 10 points clear
Cook already rated Georgia Likely Democrat before Ossoff's quarter.
Occurred 23 Sept 2026
Read story →
This Event
Georgia sets a midterm early-vote record
Georgia's opening turnout points to a high-participation midterm in a state that decides a Senate seat on 3 November.
Different Perspectives
James Talarico's campaign
James Talarico's campaign
Talarico's campaign reported raising $56.34m in the quarter to Ken Paxton's $10.17m, and says he has been off the trail since 30 September with flu. Texas PAC, whose only donor is SLF, has spent $131.5m in the race, more than twice what the campaign spent.
Senate Majority PAC, spokesperson Lauren French
Senate Majority PAC, spokesperson Lauren French
French said on 8 October that the Democratic super PAC was watching Kansas closely, but its booked airtime covers nine states and Kansas is not one. Whether SMP spends there decides if Adam Hamilton's 13-to-1 fundraising edge meets outside Republican money alone.
Brad Raffensperger, Georgia Secretary of State
Brad Raffensperger, Georgia Secretary of State
Raffensperger's office reported 188,667 in-person votes on the first day of early voting, a midterm record. He expects turnout to challenge 2022's near 4m.
Sam Hayes, North Carolina State Board of Elections
Sam Hayes, North Carolina State Board of Elections
Hayes's board reported 1,392 SAVE flags, about 0.02% of the roll, and says no voter will be removed automatically. The board is asking flagged voters to cancel or prove citizenship by letter, while eligible voters keep the right to vote on 3 November.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune
Senate Majority Leader John Thune
Thune, the Senate's Republican leader, said the government-paid ads should not be funded by taxpayers. His objection puts the party's own Senate leadership against the administration on the DHS spending.
The White House and Donald Trump
The White House and Donald Trump
The White House calls the five DHS ads public-service announcements with no call to action; Trump called them "rather standard", then said his political fundraising would pay. A White House official said there are no immediate plans to repay.

Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Editorial standards.