Georgia’s rural counties give positive early voting signs to GOP

Towns County, which lies in Georgia’s 9th Congressional District, went for Trump by an overwhelming margin of 80% during the 2020 presidential election. This time around, early voting turnout in the ruby red county has reached a staggering 15 percentage points above the state average, according to an analysis by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 

Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA), who represents the county as part of the state’s 9th Congressional District, said on Thursday that the voter turnout in Towns County had reached “the number one spot” across the state. 

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“I am so proud of the many counties across our District that lead in voter turnout percentage, including Towns County which holds the number one spot out of the 159 counties in our state,” Clyde said in a post to X. 

“Northeast Georgia is the heart of the conservative movement and in his election, it is critical that we FIGHT and WIN for the future of our country,” he continued. 

Have you voted yet? Jennifer and I cast our ballot this morning – joining the thousands of patriots from across the 9th District who have voted to Make America Great Again!

I am so proud of the many counties across our District that lead in voter turnout percentage, including… pic.twitter.com/BH2uz4jFzY

— Andrew Clyde (@AndrewClyde_) October 31, 2024

Other heavily Republican Northeastern Georgian areas, including Stephens, Union, Rabun, and Hall counties, have also broken records or seen high numbers of early voters. 

The news comes as Republicans have urged voters to cast their votes early in order to make the election “too big to rig,” as Trump often says. The strategy marks a shift from GOP skepticism about early voting just four years ago. 

 “You’ve got to give Republicans credit. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. They’re adapting to a very different political environment,” Georgia’s DeKalb County Chief Executive Michael Thurmond told the outlet.

Towns County GOP Chairwoman Betsy Young explained Republicans’ change of heart: “Four years ago, we were reactive instead of proactive. But now we’re being proactive,” she said. 

Towns County recorded a 60% early voting turnout in 2020. This time around, over two-thirds of the county’s voters have already cast their ballots ahead of Election Day, with early voting set to end Friday evening.

Early voter turnout has reached unprecedented levels across Georgia this year. Total turnout pushed past the 3.5 million mark on Thursday, meaning over 50% of the state’s active voters had cast their ballots. Early voting surpassed the 3.2 million mark on Tuesday, compared to 2.1 million early votes cast at the same point in the state in 2020, per Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

After losing the Peach State by just 12,000 votes four years ago, Trump has made a concerted effort to woo voters across the state, repeatedly wading into traditionally deep blue areas such as Atlanta. 

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“We want a landslide that’s too big to rig. We can’t let anything happen,” Trump told thousands of supporters gathered inside Atlanta’s Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre during the first day of early voting in Georgia. “Early voting is underway. Get everyone out. Get everyone you know. Just get them all out to vote. Go tomorrow.”

The latest aggregate of polling from RealClearPolitics shows Trump holds a lead of under 3 percentage points against Vice President Kamala Harris in the battleground state.