Georgia and Texas Are Voting Early in Record Numbers. Here's What the Data Can and Can't Tell You.

Georgia is 7% ahead of its 2022 pace and Texas far more. But turnout isn't vote choice, and the details inside these numbers matter more than the totals.

By Clara Hughes

Big early-vote numbers make big headlines. Before you read anything into them, here is what the official and tracker data actually show in two Sun Belt states, Georgia and Texas, nine days before the Nov. 3 midterm. Georgia: a fast start, an older electorate Georgia's Secretary of State reported a midterm first-day record when early voting opened on Oct. 13: 188,667 in-person ballots, about 40% more than the 134,962 cast on day one in 2022. "This record-breaking turnout proves that voters have confidence in the integrity of our elections," Secretary Brad Raffensperger said. As of Sunday morning, the Georgia Votes tracker, built on state voter files, counted 1,751,157 ballots: 1,669,564 early in person and