Georgia had its busiest day of early voting on Thursday, and it should pass 2022’s early-vote total on Friday. Election offices accepted 202,972 ballots on Thursday, more than on opening day. Georgia now needs 22,678 more to pass 2022’s final count, about a ninth of Thursday’s total.
Voters 18 to 34 and Hispanic voters added more ballots over 2022 than on any earlier day.
Democratic primary voters now lead Republican primary voters by 176,993 early ballots, after trailing by 68,068 in 2022.
Explore daily counts by county and voter group on the Georgia Early Voting Dashboard.
Read our Oct. 29 report on usual early voters who have not voted yet.
The Democratic and Republican Early Vote
Where the Democratic Early Vote Is Coming From
Voters whose last primary was Democratic have cast 1,081,909 early ballots, 218,251 more than at this point in 2022. They are 43.0% of Georgia’s early ballots, up from 38.1% in 2022.
The Metro Atlanta Core holds 52.0% of the 1,081,909 ballots cast early by voters whose last primary was Democratic. It gave Kamala Harris 49.0% of her 2024 votes, so it runs 2.9 points above that base. Its share is 0.1 points below its 2022 share.
The Atlanta suburban and exurban counties are gaining the most on 2022. The suburban counties hold 12.1% of these ballots, 0.6 points above their Harris share. Their share rose 0.8 points since 2022. The exurban counties gained 0.7 points but sit 0.6 below their Harris share.
Every other group of counties runs at or below its Harris share, and all but the Black Belt lost ground since 2022. Counties with larger cities are 1.9 points below. Small-city counties are 0.7 below, and rural counties outside the Black Belt are 0.4 below. The rural Black Belt counties are level with their Harris share and 0.2 points under their 2022 share.
Only the Atlanta core and suburban counties run clearly above their share of Harris’s 2024 vote
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Each bar is a group’s share of the 1,081,909 accepted early ballots cast by voters whose last primary was Democratic, minus its share of Kamala Harris’s 2,548,017 votes in 2024. Orange bars are below Harris’s share. Voters whose last primary was Democratic are a floor on Democratic voters: voters with no primary history are not counted. Early ballots are through Thursday, Oct. 29. The Metro ATL Core is Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb, Clayton and Gwinnett.
Source: Georgia Secretary of State 2024 general election results; Civic Forge Solutions 2026 Early Voting Dashboard
How to read this table: each row is a group of counties. The last two columns give how far its share of Democratic-primary early ballots sits above or below its share of Harris’s 2024 votes, and how it changed from the matching day of 2022.
| County group | Counties | Share of Harris’s 2024 votes | Share of Democratic-primary early ballots, 2026 | Same point in 2022 | Points above Harris’s share | Change from 2022 (points) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metro ATL Core | 5 | 49.0% | 52.0% | 52.1% | +2.92 | −0.13 |
| ATL Suburban counties | 6 | 11.5% | 12.1% | 11.3% | +0.57 | +0.76 |
| ATL Exurban counties | 18 | 7.8% | 7.2% | 6.5% | −0.60 | +0.70 |
| Counties with larger cities | 45 | 22.3% | 20.5% | 21.0% | −1.87 | −0.49 |
| Small-city counties | 32 | 5.4% | 4.7% | 5.0% | −0.73 | −0.33 |
| Rural counties (not Black Belt) | 42 | 2.9% | 2.6% | 2.9% | −0.35 | −0.27 |
| Rural Black Belt counties | 11 | 0.9% | 1.0% | 1.2% | +0.06 | −0.24 |
| Georgia | 159 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
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Shares of Georgia’s total in each column. Early ballots are through Thursday, Oct. 29, and the matching day of 2022; each group is set against the same group’s share of Harris’s votes.
Where the Republican Early Vote Is Coming From
Voters whose last primary was Republican have cast 904,916 early ballots, 26,810 fewer than at this point in 2022. They are 36.0% of Georgia’s early ballots, down from 41.1%.
The Atlanta core and suburban counties hold more of the Republican early vote than of Donald Trump’s 2024 vote. The core holds 22.4% of these ballots, 1.1 points above its Trump share. That is 1.2 points below its 2022 share.
Counties with larger cities fall furthest short of Trump’s 2024 base. They hold 25.9% of these ballots, 2.0 points under their Trump share. The exurban counties are 0.7 under and gaining 0.6 points on 2022.
| County group | Share of Trump’s 2024 votes | Share of Republican-primary early ballots, 2026 | Same point in 2022 | Points above Trump’s share | Change from 2022 (points) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metro ATL Core | 21.2% | 22.4% | 23.6% | +1.13 | −1.21 |
| ATL Suburban counties | 12.1% | 13.4% | 13.6% | +1.28 | −0.23 |
| ATL Exurban counties | 16.2% | 15.5% | 14.9% | −0.67 | +0.61 |
| Counties with larger cities | 27.9% | 25.9% | 25.6% | −1.98 | +0.34 |
| Small-city counties | 12.7% | 12.4% | 12.3% | −0.30 | +0.12 |
| Rural counties (not Black Belt) | 9.0% | 9.6% | 9.3% | +0.59 | +0.35 |
| Rural Black Belt counties | 0.8% | 0.7% | 0.7% | −0.07 | +0.01 |
| Georgia | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
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Shares of Georgia’s total in each column, from the 904,916 accepted early ballots cast by voters whose last primary was Republican and Donald Trump’s 2,663,117 votes in 2024. Early ballots are through Thursday, Oct. 29, and the matching day of 2022. Voters with no primary history are not counted.
What This Means
Netted against each other, Democratic primary voters have cast 176,993 more early ballots than Republican primary voters. That is a lead of 7.0 points. In 2022, Republican primary voters led by 68,068.
The gap between the two groups has swung 245,061 ballots toward Democratic primary voters since 2022. Democratic primary voters cast 218,251 more ballots, and Republican primary voters cast 26,810 fewer. Georgia has no party registration, and which primary a voter chose depends on that year’s races, so some of the swing may reflect the primaries and not voters changing sides.
About one in five early ballots, 526,812, comes from voters with no Democratic or Republican primary on record. They are 21.0% of Georgia’s early ballots, against 20.8% in 2022. They count on neither side, so the net can move in either direction.
The early vote leans Democratic by primary history, but it does not decide the election. A voter’s last primary is not a vote, and Election Day is still to come.
| Voters’ last primary | Ballots, 2026 | Share, 2026 | Ballots, same point in 2022 | Share, 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | 1,081,909 | 43.0% | 863,658 | 38.1% |
| Republican | 904,916 | 36.0% | 931,726 | 41.1% |
| No Democratic or Republican primary on record | 526,812 | 21.0% | 470,736 | 20.8% |
| All early ballots | 2,513,637 | 100.0% | 2,266,120 | 100.0% |
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Accepted early ballots through Thursday, Oct. 29, and the matching day of 2022, grouped by the party of each voter’s last primary on the voter file.
Who Has No Primary on Record
Younger voters, Hispanic voters and Asian voters are the most likely to have no primary on record. Of the voters 18 to 34 who cast early ballots, 46.4% have none, against 10.1% of the oldest voters.
Nearly half of Hispanic voters and Asian voters have no primary on record. The share is 48.5% for Hispanic voters and 48.4% for Asian voters. It is 20.8% for Black voters and 16.6% for white voters.
White voters and Black voters are still the largest groups of them. White voters are 42.0% of these ballots and Black voters 32.0%. Voters 18 to 34 are 32.2% across all races.
If they lean like primary voters of the same race and age, about 340,973 would be Democratic-leaning and 183,619 Republican-leaning. That would widen the Democratic lead to about 334,347 early ballots. The same method puts the 2022 lead at about 27,688 for Republicans.
This is an estimate, not a count. Voters who skip primaries may not vote like those who take part. The split uses only race and age, not where a voter lives.
| Group | Ballots with no primary on record | Share of those ballots | Share of the group’s early ballots | Likely Democratic-leaning share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| By race | ||||
| White voters | 221,423 | 42.0% | 16.6% | 36% |
| Black voters | 168,621 | 32.0% | 20.8% | 98% |
| Hispanic voters | 42,677 | 8.1% | 48.5% | 79% |
| Asian voters | 34,276 | 6.5% | 48.4% | 67% |
| Voters of other races | 57,595 | 10.9% | 27.7% | 70% |
| By age | ||||
| Voters 18 to 34 | 169,460 | 32.2% | 46.4% | 79% |
| Voters 35 to 54 | 166,726 | 31.6% | 26.0% | 68% |
| Voters 55 to 64 | 90,601 | 17.2% | 17.1% | 53% |
| Voters 65 and older | 97,805 | 18.6% | 10.1% | 46% |
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Early ballots through Thursday, Oct. 29, from voters whose voter-file record shows no Democratic or Republican primary. The last column assumes each group splits like voters of the same race and age who did vote in a Democratic or Republican primary. 2,220 ballots with no race or age on file are left out of that split. The groups overlap across the two halves of the table.
Thursday Was the Busiest Day of Early Voting
Georgia accepted more early ballots on Thursday than on any other day this year. Its 202,972 ballots topped opening day by 6,110. They ran 20.3% ahead of Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022, the matching day.
Thursday’s gain over 2022 was smaller than Tuesday’s or Wednesday’s. The matching 2022 Thursday was busier than either of those days, so the same turnout counts as a smaller gain.
Thursday ran 20.3% ahead of the matching 2022 Thursday
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Accepted early ballots, all methods, on each weekday of early voting against the day with the same number of days until Election Day in 2022. Early voting began Oct. 13, 2026, 21 days before Election Day, and Oct. 17, 2022, 22 days before, so each first-week day of 2026 is set against a later, busier day of 2022’s first week.
The Metro Atlanta Core1 again ran further ahead of 2022 than the rest of Georgia. The core ran 23.2% ahead on Thursday. The rest of Georgia ran 18.4% ahead.
1 The Metro Atlanta Core counties are Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb, Clayton and Gwinnett, part of the 29-county Atlanta metropolitan area as defined by the Census Bureau’s July 2023 delineation. The rest of Georgia is the other 154 counties. Back to text
How to read this table: each row is a weekday, with ballots outside and inside the core and the change from the matching 2022 day.
| Day | Rest of Georgia, 2026 | Matching 2022 day | Change | Metro Atlanta Core, 2026 | Matching 2022 day | Change | Georgia, change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon., Oct. 19 | 103,393 | 96,870 | +6.7% | 62,995 | 57,259 | +10.0% | +8.0% |
| Tue., Oct. 20 | 97,079 | 86,748 | +11.9% | 62,132 | 49,820 | +24.7% | +16.6% |
| Wed., Oct. 21 | 87,603 | 85,143 | +2.9% | 55,896 | 47,921 | +16.6% | +7.8% |
| Thu., Oct. 22 | 84,482 | 79,185 | +6.7% | 52,374 | 45,709 | +14.6% | +9.6% |
| Fri., Oct. 23 | 102,046 | 96,007 | +6.3% | 63,663 | 54,235 | +17.4% | +10.3% |
| Mon., Oct. 26 | 109,563 | 94,414 | +16.0% | 66,506 | 54,730 | +21.5% | +18.1% |
| Tue., Oct. 27 | 107,164 | 84,755 | +26.4% | 66,217 | 49,775 | +33.0% | +28.9% |
| Wed., Oct. 28 | 107,687 | 89,646 | +20.1% | 71,161 | 55,727 | +27.7% | +23.0% |
| Thu., Oct. 29 | 121,099 | 102,275 | +18.4% | 81,873 | 66,465 | +23.2% | +20.3% |
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Accepted early ballots, all methods. The Metro Atlanta Core is Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb, Clayton and Gwinnett; the rest of Georgia is the other 154 counties. The core ran further ahead of 2022 than the rest of Georgia on every weekday shown.
Five Voter Groups Against 2022
Voters 18 to 34 added 13,138 ballots over the matching 2022 Thursday, the most of any day. Their share of Thursday’s ballots ran 3.10 points above 2022. That is their widest weekday gap yet.
Voters 18 to 34 ran 3.10 points above their 2022 share on Thursday, their widest weekday gap yet
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Each bar is voters 18 to 34’s share of the day’s accepted early ballots, all methods, minus their share on the day with the same number of days until Election Day in 2022. Weekends are left out; voters 18 to 34 cast a larger share of weekend ballots in both years.
Hispanic voters and Asian voters also added more ballots over 2022 than on any earlier day. Hispanic voters added 5,604 ballots, a gain of 130.3%. Asian voters added 2,712 ballots, a gain of 69.7%.
Black women voters added 12,296 ballots over the matching 2022 Thursday. That is 42.0% more than in 2022. White women voters ran 8.5% ahead, but their share of the day’s ballots ran 3.1 points below 2022.
Four of the five groups ran less far ahead of 2022 on Thursday than on Wednesday. Hispanic voters were the exception. The running-total gain over 2022 grew for every group but Asian voters, whose gain held steady.
Voters 18 to 34 and Black women voters added the most ballots over 2022 on Thursday
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Bars show Thursday’s accepted early ballots minus those on the matching 2022 Thursday, sorted by ballots added; the label gives that number and the percentage change from 2022. Georgia added 34,232 ballots in all. Groups overlap: voters 18 to 34 include women and men voters of every race.
How to read this table: each row is a group of voters. Rows are sorted by ballots added over the matching 2022 Thursday. The columns give the change from 2022 on each of the last three days and for the running total.
| Group | Ballots added, Thu., Oct. 29 | Ballots added, running total through Oct. 29 | Change, Tue., Oct. 27 | Change, Wed., Oct. 28 | Change, Thu., Oct. 29 | Change, running total | Share of Thursday’s ballots | Share of matching 2022 Thursday’s ballots |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All voters | +34,232 | +247,517 | +28.9% | +23.0% | +20.3% | +10.9% | – | – |
| Voters 18 to 34 | +13,138 | +87,332 | +48.0% | +39.3% | +38.9% | +31.4% | 23.1% | 20.0% |
| Black women voters | +12,296 | +98,927 | +53.7% | +44.1% | +42.0% | +24.2% | 20.5% | 17.3% |
| Hispanic voters | +5,604 | +47,359 | +147.2% | +124.8% | +130.3% | +116.6% | 4.9% | 2.5% |
| White women voters | +4,479 | +16,529 | +18.7% | +12.0% | +8.5% | +2.4% | 28.3% | 31.4% |
| Asian voters | +2,712 | +29,040 | +89.6% | +74.3% | +69.7% | +69.4% | 3.3% | 2.3% |
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Accepted early ballots, all methods, against the day or running total with the same number of days until Election Day in 2022; age, race and sex as recorded on each year’s voter file. Ballots added are 2026 ballots minus 2022 ballots. Groups overlap. Bars stop at +60%; Hispanic voters’ and Asian voters’ larger gains run past that mark.
Georgia Should Pass 2022’s Total on Friday
Georgia needs 22,678 more accepted ballots to pass 2022’s final early-vote count. It has accepted 2,513,637 ballots through Thursday, 99.1% of 2022’s total. Friday is the last day of early voting.
Georgia is 247,517 ballots ahead of where it stood at this point in 2022. That lead is 10.9%. Even the low end of our Friday range would carry Georgia well past 2022’s total.
Georgia is 22,678 ballots short of 2022’s total with one day of early voting left
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Bars through Thursday are accepted early ballots, all methods. Friday’s bar adds our central forecast for Friday, with whiskers for its range. 2022’s total includes 27,674 mail ballots accepted after its early voting ended.
How Our Thursday Forecast Did
Thursday landed inside our forecast range for Georgia, the core and the rest of the state. Georgia’s ballots came in 4,038 above our central estimate of 198,934.
| Area | Our range, published Oct. 29 | Central estimate | Accepted Thursday, Oct. 29 | Against the central estimate | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metro Atlanta Core | 72,347 to 92,829 | 81,039 | 81,873 | +834 | Inside the range |
| Rest of Georgia | 103,269 to 135,568 | 118,138 | 121,099 | +2,961 | Inside the range |
| Georgia | 175,646 to 228,110 | 198,934 | 202,972 | +4,038 | Inside the range |
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Accepted early ballots, all methods, as of the file of Oct. 30.
62 Counties Still Trail 2022
The number of counties behind their 2022 pace fell to 62 of 159 on Thursday. Berrien, Brooks, Sumter, Talbot, Troup and Twiggs moved ahead of 2022. Banks and Crawford slipped back behind, by 35 and 7 ballots.
The counties still behind are short 8,530 ballots together. Toombs, Ware and Rabun trail by the most. None of the five core counties is behind.
The core’s share of Georgia’s early vote stays above its 2022 share. The five core counties hold 39.7% of ballots so far, 1.3 points more than at this point in 2022. Gwinnett has added the most ballots over 2022 of any county, 40,828.
| County | Ballots through Oct. 29, 2026 | Matching 2022 day | Difference | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toombs | 4,434 | 5,058 | −624 | −12.3% |
| Ware | 5,366 | 5,943 | −577 | −9.7% |
| Rabun | 5,479 | 6,032 | −553 | −9.2% |
| Decatur | 4,472 | 5,004 | −532 | −10.6% |
| Jefferson | 2,633 | 3,072 | −439 | −14.3% |
| Candler | 1,991 | 2,273 | −282 | −12.4% |
| Ben Hill | 3,163 | 3,439 | −276 | −8.0% |
| Chattooga | 3,511 | 3,776 | −265 | −7.0% |
| Tattnall | 3,165 | 3,386 | −221 | −6.5% |
| Jenkins | 1,294 | 1,508 | −214 | −14.2% |
| All 62 counties behind | 175,534 | 184,064 | −8,530 | – |
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Accepted early ballots, all methods, running total through Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026 against the total through Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022. The ten counties with the largest shortfalls are shown; the other 52 counties behind 2022 trail by fewer ballots. Bars stop at ±20%.
Our Friday Forecast
We expect 254,113 to 328,187 accepted ballots on Friday, the last day of early voting. Our central estimate is 290,578, against 242,521 on 2022’s last early-voting day. That would bring Georgia’s early vote to about 2.80 million before late mail arrives.