Georgia Sets Midterm Early Voting Record as Turnout Rises in Key Battleground States

Georgia voters cast a record number of ballots on the first day of early in-person voting for the 2026 midterm elections, according to the Georgia Secretary of State’s office.

A total of 188,667 Georgians voted in person on October 13. That figure is about 40 percent higher than the 134,962 in-person early ballots cast on the opening day of the 2022 midterms and more than double the 70,849 cast on the first day in 2018.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said the turnout “proves that voters have confidence in the integrity of our elections” and credited the state’s 159 county election officials.

By midday Thursday, cumulative early voting in Georgia had reached roughly 436,000 ballots, or about 5.8 percent of the state’s more than 7.5 million active registered voters. Most of those were cast in person; more than 16,000 absentee ballots had also been accepted by that point. Early in-person voting continues through October 30.

The surge comes as control of the U.S. House and Senate remains contested and as Georgia features competitive races for U.S. Senate and governor. President Trump carried the state by just over 2 percentage points in 2024.

Turnout has also been notable in other battleground states. In Ohio, Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s office reported 228,470 early votes as of October 13, including 194,841 in-person ballots and 33,629 returned absentee ballots. LaRose said bipartisan election officials are prepared to administer the election. In-person early voting in Ohio continues through November 1.

In Michigan, 440,677 mail ballots had been returned by October 13, while more than 2 million had been requested. State officials said returns were running ahead of the comparable point in 2022. In-person early voting begins statewide on October 24. Ballots must be received by 8 p.m. on Election Day to be counted.

North Carolina began in-person early voting on October 15. The State Board of Elections reported more than 201,000 in-person ballots cast on the first day, a 47 percent increase over the first day in 2022. Combined with mail ballots, total early participation stood at 237,541 through October 15, higher than at a comparable point in 2022. Early voting continues through October 31.

Election Day is November 3. Officials in the states have not projected final turnout based on the early numbers.