Democratic Gubernatorial Nominee Stacey Abrams returns a yellow voter access card after voting early Monday, Oct. 22 at the South DeKalb Mall.
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Democratic Gubernatorial Nominee Stacey Abrams returns a yellow voter access card after voting early Monday, Oct. 22 at the South DeKalb Mall.

More than 500,000 Georgians have participated in early voting for the Nov. 6 midterm election through the first week of in-person early voting, and that number now includes Democratic nominee for governor, Stacey Abrams.

Abrams was joined Monday morning by some family members at The Gallery at South DeKalb Mall to presumably cast a ballot for herself and other Democrats running for statewide and local offices.

More than 500,000 Georgians have participated in early voting for the Nov. 6 midterm election through the first week of in-person early voting, and that number now includes Democratic nominee for Governor Stacey Abrams. GPB's Stephen Fowler reports.

Normally, candidates for office cast their ballot on Election Day.

But, at a press conference following her vote, Abrams said early voting is an important process for Georgians who worry about their votes counting.

“If we vote early, we can guarantee that people have time to correct any mistakes and to deal with any concerns,” Abrams said. “And if we vote early, we can bank our votes and we will know by Election Day where we stand.”

When asked about recent reports of thousands of Georgians placed on a “pending” list and having problems with absentee ballots, Abrams said that the real problem lies with her opponent, Republican Secretary of State Brian Kemp.

“We're not getting straight answers from the person responsible for guarding the public trust,” she said. “His failure to provide clear explanations for the behaviors, or worse his continued deflection and the fact that he blames everyone but himself for the problems that happened shows a lack of leadership a lack of judgment and a lack of competence."

The latest early voting numbers show nearly three times as many people cast a ballot during the first week of in-person voting this year than in 2014.

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