Bulloch County saw a surge in early voting numbers this past week and continuing through the weekend, setting a new Saturday record with 845 voters casting their ballots on October 19, 2024. The turnout was significant, marking a historic moment for a Saturday vote since Bulloch County Election Supervisor Shontay Jones took office in 2021.
The high volume of voters on Saturday came despite some early confusion caused by signage from the League of Women Voters near a familiar intersection, where an old gas station and Dairy Queen once stood. The sign incorrectly indicated that polls would open at 8 a.m. on Saturdays, leading to lines forming as early as 7 a.m. Although the polls officially opened at 9 a.m., the strong turnout showed voters were eager to participate in the 2024 general election.
Other than this snag, voters and election workers have said that the early voting has gone very smooth especially considering the high interest.
With five days of early voting completed, Bulloch County has logged a total of 6,270 early votes, in addition to 566 mail-in ballots returned, bringing the total vote count to 6,834. This represents 12.9% of registered voters in the county out of 52,992.
Voter demographics so far
Ryan Anderson of GeorgiaVotes.com has provided Grice Connect with this breakdown of the Bulloch County voting data of the first five days of early voting which reveals several insights into voter demographics. By race, 71.6% of voters are White, followed by 19.5% Black, 7.0% Other, 1.1% Hispanic, and 0.8% Asian. Gender data shows that 54.8% of voters are female, with 44.7% male, and 0.5% marked as unknown.
Age demographics also highlight some key trends. The largest age group represented in the early voting numbers is voters aged 65 and older, accounting for 41.1% of the vote. Voters aged 50-64 make up 29.4%, with younger voters aged 18-29 representing 10.1% of the turnout so far.
Interestingly, 75.7% of early voters in this election also voted early in 2020, while 8.0% had previously voted on Election Day. Notably, 16.3% of early voters in the 2024 election did not participate in the 2020 general election, showing a potential increase in civic engagement among those who may have previously stayed home.
Next steps in voting
Georgia Southern University opens its Russell Union polling location for three days starting Tuesday, October 22, which could see another spike in early voting numbers. Voters in Bulloch County are encouraged to continue making their voices heard during this critical election period, with both early in-person and absentee voting still underway.
CLICK Here for Grice Connect's voter guide which provides helpful information on how to vote
As always, stay tuned for daily updates on the ongoing voting process and any further information regarding voter registration totals.
