Record number of registered voters

A record number of Georgians, more than 6.9 million, are registered on the electoral lists before the election of the governor next month, announced Wednesday the Georgian state secretary.

This figure includes at least 253,902 new electors registered since the April 24th registration deadline.

These new electors have applied for registration by the deadline to register. The number of registered voters will only increase in the coming days, as applications sent by mail will be processed by election officials.

The increase in the number of registrations is attracting a crowd of potential voters who could influence the November 6 governor election between Republican State Secretary Brian Kemp and Democrat Stacey Abrams. .

But to make a difference in the elections, they will have to introduce themselves. Only 43% of registered voters voted in the last mid-term legislative elections in Georgia in 2014.

Mail voting has already begun in Georgia and the in-person vote will start on Monday. Twice as many people have voted by correspondence so far this year compared to the same time in the 2014 election year.

The number of people eligible to vote is higher than in the 2016 presidential election, although the Kemp office canceled more than 668,000 registrations last year. Registrations in Georgia may be canceled when inactive voters have no contact with election officials for several years, or if they leave the state, die, are convicted of a crime, or are declared mentally incompetent.

"Despite what you hear or read, the numbers are clear," Kemp said in a statement on Wednesday. "While outside agitators denigrate our office and attack us falsely, we kept our heads low and remained focused on ensuring safe, accessible and fair elections for all voters.

"The fact is that it has never been easier to register to vote and participate in the electoral process in Georgia, and we are extremely proud to report this new record."

There were about 6,659,000 registered voters on polling day in 2016, compared to more than 6,915,000 registered voters today.

Abrams has focused on the registration of non-white people, unmarried women and Millennium women in their efforts to become the governor of Georgia. She founded the New Georgia Project in 2013 with the goal of registering 800,000 people of color in a decade.

Up to now, voters who sent ballots by mail are 42% African-Americans in a state with a black population of 32%. On Wednesday, we did not know how many new voters in the state are black.

Now that so many new voters have registered, the voting organizations will work to get the vote by helping them find a precinct and plan transportation, said Tamieka Atkins, executive director of ProGeorgia, an engagement group. civic non-profit that has registered more than 44,000 partner organizations this year.

"A gain of 250,000 newly registered voters is huge. The proof that this electoral cycle will be really exciting. People are engaged, "said Atkins. "People generally register to vote in presidential elections. The mid-term years are not usually so exciting and sexy.

Tracy Adkison, president of the League of Women Electors of Georgia, said voters were registering to vote in Georgia because of interest in this year's elections and because civic non-profit organizations have stepped up their outreach efforts. festivals, concerts and political events throughout the state.

Voters are motivated to assert their rights after the cancellation of registrations and the closure of the sector in recent years, she said.

"People feel that their democracy is under threat right now. They feel encouraged to participate in their government, "said Adkison. "It's time to step out of the sidelines and get into the game."

The in-person vote will begin Monday and will last three weeks, including at least one Saturday, October 27, in each of Georgia's 159 counties. Voters will travel to neighborhoods in their neighborhood to vote on polling day.