Georgia early voting passed 1 million in-person ballots by noon on October 20, 2026, as state officials reported a record midterm pace ahead of the November 3 election. The milestone came one week after advance voting opened on October 13.
The secretary of state’s office reported 1,007,015 in-person votes and another 48,916 accepted absentee ballots, bringing the combined total to 1,055,931. Capitol Beat independently reported the same figures and described the in-person total as a midterm record.
The announcement provides a dated measure of participation in an election featuring statewide contests. It does not show which candidates are ahead, and its timing matters when comparing the figures with claims about the first week.
Georgia early voting exceeds the 2022 comparison
According to the secretary of state’s October 20 turnout announcement, 894,412 people had voted early in person at the comparable point in 2022. The difference is 112,603 ballots, an increase of approximately 12.6% calculated from the two reported totals.
That comparison concerns the same voting method. It should not be confused with a comparison of all early ballots, which would also include accepted absentee ballots.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said the continuing records reflected public confidence in the process and credited county election officials. His assessment of voter confidence is an interpretation of the turnout, rather than a separate survey finding.
The record pace followed a strong opening day. In its October 14 release, the secretary of state reported more than 188,600 first-day in-person ballots, compared with 134,962 in 2022 and 70,849 in 2018. Those figures provide a separate comparison of participation at the start of advance voting.
Why the date and voting method matter
Georgia early voting began October 13, according to Capitol Beat. The state’s confirmation that in-person voting exceeded 1 million was issued October 20, the eighth calendar date of the advance-voting period.
FOX 5 Atlanta’s October 19 report put in-person voting above 940,000 as of 3:30 p.m. that day. It explicitly said officials had not yet confirmed whether the in-person total would reach 1 million by Monday’s close.
A separate FOX 5 report the following morning cited Georgia Votes figures showing 1,027,037 combined ballots, including 980,408 early in-person votes and 46,629 mail ballots. Those figures preceded the state’s noon announcement.
The distinction explains how combined turnout can exceed a million before in-person voting alone reaches that threshold. A precise account should identify the reporting time and whether a figure includes absentee ballots.
Turnout figures do not reveal a winner
Georgia does not register voters by political party, Capitol Beat reported. The turnout totals therefore cannot be read as a direct count of Democratic or Republican votes.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported strong activity in both Democratic-leaning communities and Republican strongholds. Its analysis also found that about 95% of the early voters had participated in the 2024 presidential election, indicating that the initial electorate was largely made up of returning voters.
Those observations describe participation and previous voting history. They do not reveal the choices on this year’s ballots or establish how people who have yet to vote will behave.
Hourly Times’ earlier report on interpreting early turnout in Ohio explains the same distinction between ballots cast and electoral outcomes. Earlier participation can also reflect people changing when they vote, rather than an equivalent increase in final turnout.
What Georgia voters can check next
The state labels its turnout dashboard unofficial and says counties complete uploads of voter credit in the days following Election Day. Published snapshots should therefore retain their timestamps instead of being treated as final election totals.
Georgia’s official general-election guidance says voters may use any early-voting location within their county. It also says the My Voter Page provides registration information, advance-voting locations and sample ballots.
For Georgia early voting, the next deadline is October 30, when the advance-voting period ends. The general election follows on November 3; voters can consult the state’s official election information page for links to current county locations and voter services.
