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Georgia's rural counties are outperforming Democratic strongholds as the Peach State breaks early voting records


Georgia's rural counties are outperforming Democratic strongholds as the Peach State breaks early voting records

Recent data shows that Georgia's rural residents are voting early at a higher rate than those living in Democratic-leaning counties, which were key to President Biden flipping the state blue in 2020.

Of the state's 159 counties, the 23 with the highest voter turnout for absentee and early in-person voting in 2020 were won by former President Trump, according to the state's election website.

These include rural Towns, Oconee and Rabun counties, where 69.06%, 65.51% and 64.46% of their active voters, respectively, have already cast their ballots.

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

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Donald Trump and Kamala Harris

The rural counties that former President Trump won in 2020 are so far outperforming the blue strongholds in the share of the population who voted early. (Getty Images)

These include the blue suburbs of Cobb County and Gwinnett County as well as the Democratic stronghold of Fulton County, home to Atlanta.

Of active voters in Fulton County, 53.51% cast their ballots before Election Day.

Georgia has broken early voting records since early voting began on Oct. 15. On Wednesday evening, state officials announced that more than half of the state's active voters have already cast their ballots.

Projections show turnout in several rural areas that favored Trump is already close to 2020's overall turnout.

However, the metro Atlanta counties that voted for Biden are still significantly larger than rural areas with higher voter turnout.

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Joe Biden

The counties that President Biden won in 2020 lag behind rural areas in percentage voter turnout, but are still better in terms of numbers than the red-leaning places. (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, nearly 7,000 Towns County residents voted in person during Georgia's early voting period, which runs through Friday.

Regardless, the rise in early voting in rural parts of Georgia could be a sign that Trump and Republicans have managed to ignite 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 an Election Day surge could help Republicans.

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Kamala Harris

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

Dave Wasserman of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report noted on

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“It is notable that a place like Towns Co. (Trump +61 in 2020) is at 92% of its final 2020 turnout, while Clayton Co. (Biden +71) is at 69% of its 2020 turnout.” said he wrote on X.

“This doesn’t tell us who will win GA, just that the Democrats have more work to do than the R’s to cast their vote in the final days.”

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