Georgia Surpasses Record For Primary Turnout, But Lines Are Still Expected For Election Day

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June 8th, 2020

During early voting, a poll worker in Dunwoody wears a protective shield. Georgians heading to the polls Tuesday can expect this Election Day to “look different,” according to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. “There will be lines. Voters will be interacting with a whole new system. Results will be slower. Things would be better if we weren’t in this pandemic. But it is what it is.”

Ron Harris / Associated PRess

The push to encourage Georgians to vote by mail amid a global pandemic worked to produce the largest primary election turnout in the state’s history. But it still is not likely to prevent long lines on Tuesday.

More than 1.2 million votes have been cast ahead of Tuesday’s primaries, either by mail or by in-person early voting.

Fear over the spread of COVID-19, which twice delayed Georgia’s presidential preference primary, also led to a drop-off in the number of poll workers and polling sites available to counties. Fulton County, for example, had planned to open 198 polling sites for Election Day, but that number has been reduced to 164.

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