Rural Georgia overtakes Dem strongholds as Peach State smashes early voting records

Rural Georgians are voting early at a higher rate than those living in Democratic-leaning counties that were key to President Biden turning the state blue in 2020, the latest data shows.

Of the state’s 159 counties, the top 23 for absentee and early voting were won by former President Trump in 2020, according to the state’s election website.

That includes the rural Towns, Oconee, and Rabun counties — which have seen 69.06%, 65.51%, and 64.46% of their active voters, respectively, already cast ballots.

Towns County voters exceeded the average early voter turnout in Georgia counties by approximately 15%, Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

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Rural districts won by former President Trump in 2020 have so far outperformed blue strongholds in percentage of the population voting early. (Getty Images)

That includes suburban blue-collar Cobb County and Gwinnett County, as well as Democratic stronghold Fulton County, home of Atlanta.

Of Fulton County’s active voters, 53.51% cast ballots before Election Day.

Georgia has broken records for early voting since early voting began on October 15. On Wednesday night, state officials announced that more than half of the state’s total active voters have already cast ballots.

Turnout in several rural districts that favored Trump is already close to the 2020 total, projections show.

However, urban Atlanta areas that voted for Biden are still significantly larger than rural areas with higher turnout.

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The counties that President Biden won in 2020 lag behind rural areas in percentage of early voter turnout, but still outnumber the red-skewed places by large numbers. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Nearly 385,000 Fulton County voters cast early in-person ballots, followed by 275,207 from Gwinnett County and 271,426 from Cobb County.

By contrast, just under 7,000 Towns County residents voted in person during Georgia’s early voting period, which runs through Friday.

Either way, the surge in early voting in rural Georgia may be a sign that Trump and Republicans have been successful in their efforts to generate enthusiasm among their base.

It could also change the perception of how analysts and forecasters interpret voter turnout — traditionally, early voting would heavily favor Democrats, while a surge on Election Day could help Republicans.

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Former President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have both poured significant resources into Georgia. (Getty Images)

Dave Wasserman, of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, noted on X that early voter turnout in some rural red Georgia counties was on track to match their overall voter turnout, but said that wasn’t necessarily an indicator of who would win.

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“It’s remarkable that a place like Towns Co. (Trump +61 in ’20) has 92% of its final ’20 turnout, while Clayton Co. (Biden +71) has 69% of its ’20 turnout,” he wrote X.

“Don’t tell us who wins GA, just that the Democrats have more work to do than the Rs to get their vote in the final days.”

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