NEWTON COUNTY – Just days ahead of the Nov. 5 general election, Newton County voters have already made their voices heard at the ballot box.
A total of 40,539 voters have voted in-person during the early voting period, according to the Georgia Secretary of State (SOS) office.
Early voting took place from Oct. 15 - Nov. 1, leading to record turnouts throughout the state. Newton County has been no different up to this point.
When looking at data from the 2020 election, only 20,867 out of 78,994 registered voters took to the ballot box, which equates to 26.4 percent. As of the 2024 election, there are 82,412 active voters in the county, meaning that approximately 52 percent of voters have already casted their vote during the early voting period.
Additionally, 2,859 absentee ballots have been accepted, bringing the total number of accepted ballots to over 35,000. In 2020 15,585 registered voters, which is 19.73 percent, voted via an absentee ballot, mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Georgia SOS website, there were 4,236 absentee ballots requested and 4,231 issued this year.
When breaking down the demographics of the over 43,000+ who have voted in Newton County, 59.3 percent of early voters are female. Around 40.6 percent of voters are male, while 0.1 percent identify as “other.”
Approximately 20,377 Black voters have voted so far, equating to 53.8 percent of registered Black voters. The second highest racial demographic accounted for were White voters, who cast 17,350 votes. That equates to 57 percent of White registered voters.
Those who identify as “Other” or listed as “Unknown” accounted for 3,014 votes. Additional numbers include 717 votes for the Hispanic/Latino population; 228 votes for Asian/Pacific Islander; and 210 votes for American Indian or Alaskan Native.
The largest age demographic for early/absentee voters to date is the 55-59 age group with 4,789 votes cast. Coming in a close second and third place are the 65-69 age group and the 50-54 group, who are also over the 4,000 number.
There has also been a sizable turnout in young/potential first-time voters, with 3,362 voters aged 18-24 recorded as submitting their ballots. This amounts to 35.3 percent of voters in that age group having already submitted their vote.
The early voting period may come as a good sign for the Democratic candidates, as historically early voters have leaned blue.
In 2020, 12,556 voted for President Joe Biden in the presidential election during the in-person early voting period, compared to the 8,103 who voted for former President Donald Trump. Similarly, the Democratic candidates for the sheriff and coroner positions received a majority of the vote during the 2020 early voting period.
The district commission seats, however, have told a different story, as both Republican candidates held the majority during the early voting period in 2020.
While early voting may be over, citizens will have one last chance to cast their vote on election day, Nov. 5. All 23 voting precincts will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. To find your voting precinct, visit: https://www.newtoncountyga.gov/178/Voting-Precincts-Polling-Locations.
