The most recent data show that rural voters in Georgia are voting early at a higher rate than those living in counties that lean Democratic, which was key to President Joe Biden flipping the state blue in 2020.
According to the state’s elections website, former President Donald Trump won 23 of the 159 counties in the state for early in-person and absentee voter turnout in 2020.
That includes the rural counties of Rabun, Towns, and Oconee, where 64.46%, 69.06%, and 65.51% of their active voters are already casting ballots, respectively.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that voters in Towns County outpaced the average early turnout rate in the Georgia county by around 15%.
That includes suburban blue-leaning Gwinnett County and Cobb County, as well as the Democratic stronghold of Fulton County, home to Atlanta.
Of the active voters in Fulton County, 53.51% cast ballots prior to Election Day.
Georgia has smashed all early voting records since it started on October 15. On Wednesday evening, state officials announced that over half of the state’s active voters had already cast their ballots.
Turnout in numerous rural areas that favored Trump is already near the 2020 total turnout show projections.
However, counties in the Atlanta metro area that voted for Joe Biden are still substantially more significant than rural areas with higher turnout.
Almost 385,000 voters in Fulton County cast early ballots in person, followed by 275,207 from Gwinnett County and 271,426 in Cobb County.
Conversely, just under 7,000 residents in Towns County voted in person during the early voting period in Georgia, which runs through Friday.
Early voting spike in rural areas could be a sign Trump and GOP have been successful in their efforts
However, the spike in early voting in rural portions of Georgia could be a sign that Trump and the GOP have been successful in drumming up enthusiasm in their base.
Additionally, it could change perceptions of how predictors and analysts interpret voter turnout—traditionally, early voting favors Democrats heavily, while a surge on Election Day could help Republicans.
From the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, Dave Wasserman noted on X that early turnout in some red, rural Georgia counties was on track to match their total turnout. However, it said it wasn’t necessarily an indication of who would win.
“It’s notable that a place like Towns Co. (Trump +61 in’ 20) is at 92% of its entire ’20 turnout, while Clayton Co. (Biden +71) is at only 69% of its ’20 turnout,” wrote Wasserman on X.
“Doesn’t tell us who will win GA, just that Dems have more work to do than Rs to turn out their vote in the final days.”
