Early voting record for US election in Georgia

In many US states, voters are already allowed to vote in presidential elections, and more than five million people have already done so. Georgia is witnessing an unprecedented turnout.

In the particularly hotly contested US state of Georgia, early voting for the Nov. 5 presidential election began Tuesday — with voting immediately registered.

After polling stations opened in the morning, 251,899 votes had already been cast as of 4pm (10pm local time, CEST), announced one of the officials, Gabriel Sterling. This is a record number for the first day – almost twice as many as the US election in 2020. Then, in Georgia, 136,000 votes were cast on the first day.

More than five lakh votes have already been registered

Early voting has also begun in other US states – for example by postal ballot or by showing up in person at polling stations that are already open. According to a tally by the University of Florida, more than five million American voters have already exercised this option.

Polls predict a close presidential race between Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and former Republican President Donald Trump. At the same time, the election is seen as a directional decision for the future of American democracy.

The US electoral system is that the president is elected indirectly by 538 electors who are sent to an Electoral College by individual states. Whoever has at least 270 of these electorates wins the election.

Because of this peculiarity, the outcome of the presidential election will be decided only in a few states that are very close. Georgia, with its 16 electors, is one of seven particularly hotly contested states — so-called swing states.

Controversies about rules Vote count

Trump lost the 2020 election in Georgia to incumbent Joe Biden. Republicans later claimed the election results were falsified. Trump has been indicted in Georgia and at the federal level for trying to alter the election results. There is still controversy over the rules for counting votes in Georgia.

On the one hand, a regulation decided by the Republican-leaning Commission on Elections is being challenged, which requires ballots to be counted by hand rather than by machine. It is also not yet clear whether election officials in individual districts have the authority to challenge the vote count results if there are concerns about the vote count results.