'Don't forget': Democrats make case for early voting in Albany

Oct. 20—ALBANY — Georgia voters have jumped at the opportunity to cast early ballots ahead of the Nov. 8 general election, with turnout in the first three days surpassing the number who showed up during the first two days ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

On Thursday, the message of Georgia Democrats was to keep the pace up and vote ahead of the election to avoid a last-minute emergency that could derail plans to vote on Election Day.

"You could have a fever on election day," Albany attorney Greg Fullerton, who is treasurer of the Dougherty County Democratic Committee, said. "You could have a sick family member. The weather could be bad on Election Day."

On Wednesday, the Georgia Secretary of State's office reported that 134,005 voters cast ballots on Tuesday, the second day of early voting, a massive 75.3% increase over the number who voted on the second day of early voting in 2018.

The two-day total for Monday and Tuesday was an "astounding" 3.3% increase over Day 2 early voting in the 2020 presidential election, the office said in a news release.

At the Ray Charles Plaza in downtown Albany on Thursday, state Sen. Freddie Powell Sims encouraged voters to continue to take advantage of the three weeks, including two Saturdays and two Sundays for Dougherty County residents, during which voters can cast ballots before the election.

In Dougherty County, early voting was being held a short distance away from the Democrats' news conference, at the Albany Civic Center.

Sims urged voters from throughout the area to find out where the polling location is in their county and make their voice heard in local, statewide and national races.

"The stakes are too high for you to forget," she said. "Our rights, our health and our safety are on the ballot this year. We want to be able to vote without harassment. We want to be able to assemble. We want to be able to send our children to safe schools.

"Even as we have unprecedented attacks on our rights, we also have the unprecedented opportunity for change."

While some individuals may think their votes don't matter, in a close statewide race one or two votes in each of the thousands of precincts could make the difference, Fullerton said.

"We have some very close elections in our (area), and we think the participation of Dougherty County voters will make a difference in the future," he said. "We want our democracy to be protected for our kids and grandkids. The way we can show them is to let them see us get out to vote."

The Democratic Party has been sending the message to young people and residents in rural areas for months about the importance of voting, and volunteers holding up signs for the news conference have been canvassing every day, urging voters to get to the polls, Powell said.