By Dave Williams
Capitol Beat News Service

ATLANTA – Early voting is off to a fast start in Georgia, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger reported Tuesday.

As of 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, about 72,000 Georgians already had cast their ballots on the first day of the early voting period. By the end of the day, that number is expected to far surpass the 136,000 who voted on the first day of early voting ahead of the last presidential election four years ago.

“It looks like it’s going to be a record breaker for the first day of early voting,” Raffensperger said.

Raffensperger said his office shipped out absentee ballots last week as scheduled, despite disruptions in South Georgia and the Augusta region caused by Hurricane Helene. Just more than 250,000 Georgia voters have requested absentee ballots, he said.

Blake Evans, director of elections for the secretary of state’s office, said Georgia has 350 early voting locations statewide. Voters can click on MyVoterPage.com for information on early voting locations in their county.

Raffensperger said the average wait time for early voting on Tuesday morning was just 57 seconds, even faster than the average wait time of three minutes posted two years ago.

“It’s going to be free. It’s going to be fair, and it’s going to be fast,” he said.

Raffensperger said state law now requires voters to show a photo ID no matter whether they vote early, in person on Election Day, or by absentee ballot. About 99% of voters use a photo ID to prove their identity, he said.

The secretary said his office conducted a statewide audit more than 20 months ago to ensure only U.S. citizens are registered to vote in Georgia. The agency works in information-sharing partnerships with other states and the Georgia Department of Driver Services to identify voters who may have moved out of state, he said.

“We understand how many people move each year in America,” he said. “It’s a lot to keep track of.”

Raffensperger urged Georgians to make a plan for how they want to vote.

“It’s your choice, but please make a choice,” he said.

Early voting in Georgia continues through Nov. 1, four days before Election Day,