Georgia reports record turnout as early voting begins in the battleground state

At least 252,000 voters had cast ballots at early voting sites by 4 p.m. EDT, nearly double the 136,000 who participated in the first day of early voting in the 2020 election, said Gabriel Sterling, Georgia's second-largest election official. “Spectacular turnout,” he wrote on social media.

Early voting, either in person or by mail, is becoming increasingly popular among U.S. voters. According to the University of Florida's Election Lab, nearly one in seven voters cast their ballot before Election Day in 2020. But many Republicans opposed the dramatic expansion of mail-in voting this year, saying it was less secure than in-person voting, and Trump cited false claims of mail-in voting fraud as he unsuccessfully tried to overturn his loss to Democrat Joe Biden.