Northeast Georgia counties led the state in early voter turnout

Voters undergo ID checks at the Ruby C. Fulbright Aquatic Center in Clarkesville, Georgia, on the last day of early voting for the midterms on Friday, Oct. 30, 2026. (Joshua M. Peck/NowGeorgia.com)

Over 2.7 million Georgians voted early in person for the 2026 midterms, surpassing the state’s 2022 midterm record by more than 415,000 ballots.

Northeast Georgia led the state in overall voter turnout, with more than half of the active registered voters in Towns County casting ballots ahead of Election Day. Oconee County was close behind.

A record midterm

By the time polls closed Friday, Oct. 30, 2,705,259 of Georgia’s 7.5 million active registered voters had cast ballots, up 18.1% from 2022.

Election officials accepted nearly 130,000 absentee-by-mail ballots statewide, for an overall turnout of 37.6%.

Towns and Oconee lead the region and state

Across Northeast Georgia, early voter turnout reflected statewide totals, reaching 37.5% of the nearly 650,000 voters across 18 counties.

Towns County led the region and state at 52.2%, with 5,703 of its 10,920 active registered voters casting early ballots. Oconee County followed, with the second-highest turnout in Georgia, at 50%. By the end of early voting, 16,461 of Oconee’s 32,919 active registered voters had cast ballots.

Rabun and Union counties were next, regionally, at 43.4% and 43.3%, respectively. Habersham ranked fifth in the region at 41.2%, with 13,250 of its 32,157 active registered voters casting early ballots.

Eight Northeast Georgia counties exceeded the statewide turnout. Franklin County had the region’s lowest early turnout at 28.5%, followed by Elbert at 29.6% and Barrow at 30.2%.

Early turnout by Northeast Georgia county

County Early turnout
Towns 52.2%
Oconee 50.0%
Rabun 43.4%
Union 43.3%
Habersham 41.2%
Clarke 40.5%
Dawson 39.9%
Lumpkin 38.2%
Jackson 37.1%
Hall 36.7%
Stephens 36.7%
White 35.7%
Hart 34.4%
Banks 32.6%
Madison 31.0%
Barrow 30.2%
Elbert 29.6%
Franklin 28.5%

Turnout is the share of active registered voters who voted early in person or had an absentee-by-mail ballot accepted. County percentages are shown as displayed on the regional map.

Election Day voting

Election Day voting at polling precincts across the state begins at 7 a.m. on Nov. 3. Now Georgia is closely monitoring the election and will bring you live updates throughout the evening after polls close at 7 p.m.

To check your voter registration status and locate your assigned voting precinct, visit Georgia’s My Voter Page.

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