Multiple high-stakes races on the ballot in Georgia have drawn record levels of early-voter turnout, in keeping with state officials.
Through the primary days of early voting, a record 1.017 million people solid ballots within the state, in keeping with a press release from Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
This preliminary news of high turnout follows a controversial revision to state-level election administration procedures authorized by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp in 2021.
“We had a whole lot of problems with the 2020 election,” said Christian Zimm, a Republican running to represent Georgia’s fifth Congressional District. “We codified a whole lot of those issues into law with SB 202,” he told CNBC.
“[Senate Bill 202] means we haven’t any more 24-hour drop boxes here within the state,” said Bernard Fraga, a political science professor at Emory University. “Counties like Fulton County and DeKalb County that had dozens of ballot drop boxes [are] now reduced to lower than half, in some cases, lower than a 3rd of the variety of drop boxes that they had in November 2020.”
Yet there are some ways in which SB202 is making casting a ballot simpler for some voters. “You may vote within the state of Georgia anywhere in your county during early voting. … This may be very helpful for individuals who work. This is helpful for people who find themselves parents,” Tammy Greer, assistant of political science professor at Atlanta Clark University, told CNBC.
The votes coming in from the sprawling Atlanta metro region will reverberate throughout the U.S. this midterm election cycle. These voters will help determine crucial races within the U.S. Senate and House, in addition to those for governor and state secretary of state.
If Republicans are in a position to flip national seats in key parts of Georgia, splitting Congress, experts say the pace of U.S. policymaking could slow.
“It is a unique moment when it comes to the hyper-polarization where Congress cannot even pass laws in a whole lot of instances because there’s just no give in anyway,” said Adrienne Jones, an assistant professor at Morehouse College.
Polling data suggests that economic issues remain the highest issues for voters in the ultimate weeks before Election Day, however the record voting results suggests that a big selection of issues including crime, civil rights and abortion are motivating voters to go to the polls in droves.
Watch the video above to see what’s driving Atlanta’s record early-voter turnout.
