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US Midterms 2026
22OCT

Georgia sets a midterm early-vote record

2 min read
20:36UTC

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 →Texas →Florida →Raphael Warnock →Michael P. McDonald →US Elections Project →Fair Fight Action →
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
Judge Adolf Zeman, Alaska Superior Court
Judge Adolf Zeman, Alaska Superior Court
Zeman refused to dismiss the League of Women Voters, Alaska Black Caucus and ACLU of Alaska suit over the state giving DOJ its unredacted voter list. The privacy claims now go to evidence-gathering under the Alaska Constitution.
Judge Thomas Schroeder, US District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina
Judge Thomas Schroeder, US District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina
Schroeder refused on 19 October to block the State Board of Elections rule that rejects mail ballots with an unsealed or missing inner envelope. He found the challengers had delayed and that relief was infeasible with voting under way, and pointed to notice-and-cure provisions as a safeguard.
Stephen Richer, Republican former Maricopa County recorder
Stephen Richer, Republican former Maricopa County recorder
Richer submitted a brief on 20 October supporting the voting groups on documentary proof of citizenship at registration. He takes no position on the separate 90-day voter-removal question.
Senate Leadership Fund
Senate Leadership Fund
The Senate Leadership Fund began spending for interim Senator Darline Graham Nordone on 19 October, taking its South Carolina total to $4.06m, including $2.25m against Democrat Annie Andrews. Republicans are now paying to defend a seat in a state Donald Trump carried in 2024.
WinSenate, the ad-buying affiliate of Senate Majority PAC
WinSenate, the ad-buying affiliate of Senate Majority PAC
WinSenate began buying Kansas airtime against Roger Marshall on 10 October and had reported $8.14m there by 20 October. Marshall held $922,088 in cash on 30 September and the NRSC gave him no party money in September, so the Democratic side is spending where the Republican committee has not.
County Board of Arlington County
County Board of Arlington County
Arlington says federal Polling Place Policies allowing armed agents at polling sites breach 18 USC 592, the 1865 ban on troops or armed men at an election. It reads Markwayne Mullin's 1 September remarks as confirming such a policy, and asks Judge Brinkema to keep armed federal staff from its polls and drop boxes.

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