High Turnout as Early Voting Begins in Georgia and Other States

Almost 2.5 million voters had cast ballots in the 2022 midterm elections by Wednesday, according to CNN (Left bias). That includes almost 300,000 in Georgia alone, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s (Lean Left bias) turnout tracker. 

For Context: Turnout in Georgia, which is weighing high-profile Senate and gubernatorial races, has already overtaken 2018’s midterm turnout by tens of thousands of votes. However, Georgia was also the center of controversy in 2021 when state Republicans passed a sweeping “election integrity” law that President Joe Biden called “Jim Crow in the 21st Century.” 

How the Center Covered It: Coverage from center-rated outlets like BBC (Center bias) tended to focus on high turnout and Georgia’s high-profile elections. 

How the Left Covered It: Coverage from the left was mixed; CNN compared data on absentee ballot returns to previous years, and an MSNBC (Left bias) headline said high turnout “could be wake up call for Republicans.”

How the Right Covered It: Some right-rated outlets and conservative voices framed high turnout in Georgia as evidence that Republican election reform did not suppress voting. National Review (Right bias) specifically singled out gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams (D) for “repeated claims that her opponent, incumbent governor Brian Kemp, is engaged in widespread voter suppression.”