The state of Georgia, which became an important `battleground` in the 2020 election with two Senate seats and close support for the two presidential candidates, began allowing in-person voting from the 12th.
This state began allowing people to vote by mail many weeks ago, but this is the first day voters are allowed to go to polling stations to make their choices, amid the complicated developments of Covid-19.
Voters seemed to be aware of the importance of this year’s race, so they lined up for hours, even before the polls opened.
The line of people lined up from the parking lot, along the sidewalks, winding around libraries and recreation centers to get to the polling station.
Voters waited in line to vote early since dawn at the DeKalb County election office, Georgia, on October 12.
However, the large number of voters also makes early voting challenging.
The Covid-19 pandemic caused some election workers, many of whom were elderly, to refuse to participate due to health concerns, leading to the closure of many polling stations.
The first day of three weeks of early voting shows that a large number of voters combined with equipment errors could cause problems on the actual election day on November 3.
A line of people waiting to vote early at the DeKalb County election office, Georgia, on October 12.
Voter Danielle Driscoll said she was surprised to see the large line around the South Cobb Library.
`This is both a positive and negative signal,` she said.
5 minutes later, Driscoll decided to leave and would return at another time.
Janice Elliott-Howard, 54, said she was not surprised by the crowded scene and for her, voting in person was a good thing.
`I think this is the safest way to vote. You know your vote is counted. I don’t trust putting ballots in the mail or sending them out by email.`
According to data released on October 12 by the American Elections Project at the University of Florida, nearly 10.3 million Americans voted early for the presidential election, many times higher than at the same time in 2016, due to
