Record number of early ballots in Georgia – DW – October 16, 2024

Voters in the swing state of Georgia were in record numbers Tuesday as early voting began for the Nov. 5 presidential election, officials said.

At least 252,000 voters had cast ballots at early voting sites by 4:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (2000 GMT). That's nearly double the 136,000 participants on the opening day of early in-person voting for the 2020 election, said Gabriel Sterling, Georgia's second-largest elections official.

Sterling took to social media and exclaimed: “Spectacular turnout.”

While some polling locations in Atlanta's core counties reported an hour-long wait, others reported little or no wait.

Georgia is one of seven contested states that are expected to play a crucial role in the election outcome.

The turnout reflects the popularity of early voting — either in-person or by mail — that was also seen in the 2020 election. .

Harris vs. Trump: Competing tariff plans on China imports

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Harris in Detroit, Trump in Atlanta during the election campaign

When early voting began in Georgia, Democratic and Republican candidates conducted media interviews as part of their campaigns.

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris sat down for a radio interview with a host named Charlamagne tha God on Tuesday. She defended her reputation as a prosecutor, promised to decriminalize marijuana and pledged to advocate for police reforms.

Charlamagne, a black comedian and author who hosts the radio show “The Breakfast Club,” is known for his candid interviews with celebrities.

On Wednesday she will be interviewed on the conservative channel Fox News.

Meanwhile, Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump attended an all-female town hall event in Atlanta, Georgia, hosted by Fox News. There he said he would advocate for tax relief for lower-income Americans.

“We're going to adjust things so that it's fair for everyone, because it's really not fair for everyone,” he said.

He previously conducted an interview with Bloomberg News editor-in-chief John Micklethwait in which he defended his protectionist trade policies and tax proposals and dismissed ideas that they could increase the federal debt burden and harm the U.S. economy.

Trump and Musk rally at the site of the attack

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Musk becomes a Republican mega-donor

According to federal data, billionaire Elon Musk donated around $75 million to his pro-Donald Trump spending group American PAC in three months. This shows how important Musk has become to Trump's campaign.

The American PAC is focused on winning over voters in swing states like Georgia. The group spent $72 million of that in the July-September period, the disclosure said. Musk was the group's only donor during this time.

That's more than any other pro-Trump PAC focused on voter turnout.

mk/msh (AP, Reuters)