Georgia set to reach 200,000 votes Monday as voting opens in all counties
180,000 votes cast over Thanksgiving weekend
A busy weekend of early voting in a handful of counties over the holiday weekend has put the state on the brink of surpassing 200,000 ballots cast so far in the Senate runoff election.
After failing to earn more than 50% of the vote in the general election, Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock is looking to fend off Republican rival Herschel Walker in a runoff election on December 6.
But several Georgians aren’t waiting until then to cast their ballots: more than 180,000 voters went to the polls over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend after a judge gave counties the option to offer voting on Saturday and Sunday. State officials had argued that counties were unable to offer voting during holiday weekends.
Most counties in the metro Atlanta area began voting on Saturday, including Cobb, Fulton, DeKalb and Gwinnett. Long lines started forming outside of polling locations hours before voting opened. Clayton County began voting on Sunday.
All 159 counties in the state are required to offer early in-person voting starting on Monday.
The holiday weekend hasn’t kept Warnock off the campaign trail. The Senator addressed supporters in Atlanta on Sunday before marching alongside civil rights figures and faith leaders to a nearby polling place to cast his vote. Former President Barack Obama is set to stump for Warnock on Thursday.
Walker, meanwhile, has not held any public events all weekend. He is set to return to the campaign trail on Monday with a stop in Northeast Georgia headlined by former Housing & Urban Development Secretary Dr. Ben Carson.
Early in-person voting runs from Monday until Friday. You can check the Secretary of State’s website to find your nearest polling location.