Georgians flock to cast ballots as early in-person voting begins

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgians aren't waiting to vote, with what could be more than 10% of expected turnout casting ballots through Wednesday.

More than 310,000 people voted on Tuesday, the first day of early in-person voting, with another 260,000 more making their choices through Wednesday evening. Another 33,000 mail ballots have also been accepted. That's more than 600,000 votes cast in Georgia, compared to the record 5 million who voted in the 2020 presidential election in the southern battleground state.

On Monday, voters lined up before sunrise, with many saying they long ago decided whether they were choosing Democrat Kamala Harris, Republican Donald Trump, Libertarian Chase Oliver or Green Party nominee Jill Stein. Two other candidates — independent Cornel West and the Party for Socialism and Liberation's Claudia De la Cruz appear on Georgia ballots, but their votes won't be counted after the state Supreme Court ruled they didn't properly qualify.

“I'm excited to vote against Donald Trump and for Kamala Harris,” said Anthony Engleton, a retiree who was voting Tuesday in the Atlanta suburb of Sandy Springs. “The whole history, the record of Trump's crimes and grifts shows he's a con artist who's all about himself.”

Voting in the Gwinnett County suburb of Berkeley Lake, Karen Hall said she had long been ready to support Trump because of her concerns about immigration.

“It’s the most important election in our lifetime,” Hall said. “Our country’s gone to hell in a handbasket and it needs to be set back on the right track. Donald Trump is the only who can fix it.”

Both Democrats and Republicans try to drive their most committed partisans to vote early in Georgia, so they can focus later on less reliable voters. Trump did two events Tuesday in Georgia, while top Democratic surrogates urged on voters in recent days.

The previous first-day record was nearly 137,000 in 2020, and this year's increase reflects a shift in how Georgians vote. In 2020, amid the pandemic, Georgia temporarily made it easy to request a mail ballot online and set up many drop boxes. By this time in 2020, 1.2 million votes had already been recorded.

Voters in Georgia must now physically sign an absentee ballot application, counties are required to mail them later, and the number of drop boxes has been sharply limited. That's all combined to decrease mail ballot requests from 2020, part of a hotly disputed series of voting changes in the state.

Among those who have already cast Georgia ballots are one former president, Jimmy Carter, and one current presidential candidate, Libertarian Chase Oliver.

Oliver joined a line of voters Tuesday morning in the Atlanta suburb of Tucker.

“It always feels weird seeing your name on the screen and you’re selecting yourself — it’s a little surreal,” Oliver said.

The Libertarian is touting himself as the only third-party candidate on the ballot in all 50 states, saying he's an alternative for Republicans and Democrats dissatisfied with their nominees.

Jimmy Carter cast his ballot by mail on Wednesday, according to the Carter Center.

His son Chip Carter said before the family gathered for his father's 100th birthday on Oct. 1 that the former president was “plugged in” to the election.

“I asked him two months ago if he was trying to live to be 100, and he said, ‘No, I’m trying to live to vote for Kamala Harris,’” Chip Carter said. ___

Kramon reported from Berkeley Lake, Georgia.