Georgia saw record turnout and no lines on the first day of early voting for the 2022 primary election. Overall, 27,298 Georgians cast their ballots early, in-person yesterday, 3 times the number that turned out to vote on the first day of the 2018 primary election and almost double the number for the June 2020 primary.

“Record turnout on the first day of early voting is a testament to an elections system that ensures top-level security and ease of access,” said Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. “Georgia voters statewide experienced short or nonexistent lines, and a smooth voting process. It remains easy to vote and hard to cheat in Georgia, further disproving the false narrative from Abrams and her allies about the Election Integrity Act of 2021.”

On the first day of early voting for Georgia’s 2022 primary election, 27,298 Georgians cast a ballot early, in-person. For Georgia’s June 2020 primary election, 14,950 individuals cast ballots in-person on the first day of early voting. For the 2018 primary, only 9,266 Georgians cast ballots on the first day of early, in-person voting.

An additional 2,719 absentee ballots have been returned statewide as well.

In March 2021, the Georgia legislature passed the Election Integrity Act of 2021, which expanded the number of early voting days to 17, including two mandatory Saturdays of voting and codifying optional Sunday voting into law. The legislation also included provisions requiring photo ID for absentee ballots, added commonsense regulations to absentee ballot drop boxes and cut down on long lines.