9,000+ Already Voted In Nation's Most Watched Governor's Race

ATLANTA, GA -- More than 9,000 absentee ballots have already been returned by Georgia voters in advance of the Nov. 6 general election, according to data from the Georgia Secretary of State. Early voting begins Oct. 15, but 9,077 ballots have been mailed in, as Democrat Stacey Abrams seeks to become the nation's first African-American female governor. Republican Brian Kemp is seeking to maintain the GOP's control of the governor's office since 2002.

Georgia allows anyone to vote by mail on absentee ballots. The deadline to register to vote for this year’s election is Oct. 9.

Abrams made history back on May 22, when she became the first African-American woman to win a major party's nomination for governor by defeating former state Rep. Stacey Evans. Two months later, Kemp won the GOP nomination after a bitter runoff with Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle. In a state where Democrats have not won the governorship since 2002, Abrams is campaigning hard in an effort to turn out people who have not traditionally voted at the polls.

Kemp, meanwhile, is touting his conservative credentials, hoping that's enough to turn back the tide of an electorate that, particularly in metro Atlanta, has grown more diverse and less staunchly conservative in recent years.

Last week, the AFL-CIO sent an initial round of mail to union households across the state highlighting its endorsement of Abrams.

More Patch Election Coverage

• America's Most Watched Governor's Race: Early Voting Begins Soon
  
• Dead Heat: Abrams, Kemp Tied In GA Governor Poll
• Federal Judge Rules No Paper Ballots In GA For 2018 Election
• Georgia Runoff Election Results: Kemp Defeats Cagle

An internal poll conducted by the Abrams campaign shows her leading Kemp by a margin of 48 percent to Kemp's 42 percent. The firm of Garin-Hart-Yang conducted the poll between Sept. 17-20, interviewing a sample of 603 likely voters with a margin of error of +4.1%. The party self-identification in the survey was 40% Democrat and 40% Republican.

The last publicly reported poll in the race was commissioned by the AJC in late August, and showed the race in a dead heat.

From now until Election Day, your local Patch will be offering the most comprehensive and thorough election coverage of the governor's race and all of the other local races, issues and referendums that matter to you.

Georgia voters can check their registration status as well as find out where they can vote early through the Georgia Secretary of State's My Voter Page.

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