#Georgia sees record turnout, long lines on first day of early voting

Georgia’s first day of early voting on Monday drew a record turnout and long lines at certain polling places, a report said.

Nearly 127,000 voters in the Peach State cast their ballots on Columbus Day, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing Georgia’s secretary of state’s office.

“Georgia is seeing record turnout for early voting because of excitement and enthusiasm,” Walter Jones, spokesman for Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, told the newspaper. “Long lines are to be expected.”

Early voting runs until Oct. 30 in the state, which is also expecting a large amount of its population to vote via absentee ballots over coronavirus concerns.

By the end of September, more than 1.35 million absentee ballots were requested by Georgia voters. By comparison, 241,519 of them were issued in 2016, the report said.

Monday’s turnout created an hours-long wait at a polling place outside of Atlanta in Gwinnett County, the report said. Technical glitches to check-in devices at a Fulton County polling site also briefly slowed down voting.

Traditionally a Republican-dominated state, recent polls show that in Georgia President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden are in a dead heat three weeks ahead of Election Day.