Georgia says it saw 160 percent increase in early voting between 2020 and 2022

Georgia has seen a 160 percent increase in early voting since it opened earlier this month, compared to the same period in the state’s 2020 primary season, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s (R) office announced on Wednesday.

Raffensperger’s office said more than 250,000 people had voted early so far, either in-person or through an absentee ballot. Broken down by party, that includes 146,425 Republicans and 106,188 Democrats.

That figure is a 239 percent increase over early voting in 2018, when just 69,263 had voted by now.

“The record early voting turnout is a testament to the security of the voting system and the hard work of our county election officials,” Raffensperger said in a statement.

“As Secretary of State, I promised to strike a strong balance between access and security in our elections, and these numbers demonstrate that I kept that promise and that voters have confidence in Georgia’s elections.”

Those numbers come as the Georgia Republican is fighting to retain his seat against Rep. Jody Hice (R), who has been endorsed by Trump. Raffensberger refused attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results, drawing former President Trump’s ire.

The Georgia secretary of state has said that the last presidential election was free and fair as Trump and his allies offered baseless claims that there was widespread fraud in the 2020 election, including through early mail-in voting.

Last year, elections legislation was passed in the state that curbed ballot drop box use; moved the secretary of state from chair to a nonvoting member of the State Elections Board; expanded early in-person voting for weekends; and mandated a voter ID requirement for those seeking to vote by absentee ballot.

Georgia’s primary election is slated for May 24.