Georgia Shatters Early-Voting Record

ATLANTA, GA — With a full day of ball0t-casting left to go, Georgia was on pace Friday to shatter its record for early voting.

Through Thursday, more than 2,180,000 early votes had been cast, either at in-person polling places or via absentee ballot, said Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp.

That's already more than the state's early-voting record — 2,129,316 — set in 2008, with a full day of advance voting left to go.

The last day to vote early in Georgia is Friday. Polling locations will be closed over the weekend and on Monday, in preparation for Election Day on Tuesday, November 8.

"Georgia voters are highly enthusiastic and taking full advantage of unprecedented access to the ballot box to make sure their voices are heard," Kemp said in a news release. "As Georgia’s chief elections official, I want to ensure every Georgian has the opportunity to allow their voice to be heard at the polls."

As of Friday morning, 2,013,132 in-person ballots had been cast in Georgia and 166,875 mail-in absentee ballots had been received, Kemp said.

Kemp planned to continue providing updated early voting totals throughout the day on his Twitter account.

"Technology and hard work by our state and county election officials have made the right to vote easier and easier to exercise over the past decade," said Kemp.

Georgia voters can use the Secretary of State office’s “My Voter Page” or download the “GA SOS” app to check their registration status, view a sample ballot, find their voting location, and review county hours of operation.

On Election Day, Georgia polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Currently, there are more than 6.6 million registered voters in Georgia.

Turnout has been driven, in part, by an uncharacteristically close presidential election in the state. Georgia has been a reliably red state since 1992, the last time Georgia's electoral votes went to a Democrat.

But polls have shown Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump neck-and-neck in Georgia, generally showing Trump with a narrow lead or the two in a statistical tie.

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