Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 5, 2021
CONTACT: press@secure-democracy.org
New Analysis: Republican, Military Voters Relied Heavily on Early and Absentee Voting
Research shows that Republican lawmakers working to restrict early and absentee voting are very likely interfering with their own core supporters’ freedom to vote.
ATLANTA – A new independent analysis by Secure Democracy first reported today in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reveals that Republican voters, GOP donors, and military voters relied heavily on early and absentee voting in Georgia for the 2020 Election.
Sarah Walker, executive director of Secure Democracy stated, “It may surprise people just how many Republicans and Republican military voters relied on early, in-person voting and absentee voting last year, but the truth is that both Republican and Democrat voters have relied on these methods in the past and are likely to again in future elections. Our research shows the lawmakers working to restrict early and absentee voting are very likely interfering with their own core supporters’ freedom to vote.”
The report showed that without early voting or absentee voting in the 2020 primary election, Republicans would have cast only 430,000 out of the 1.18 million ballots they actually cast. In fact, in Georgia’s 2020 primary election, Republicans actually cast more absentee ballots than Democrats and voted absentee at a higher rate than Democrats.
In the 2020 general election, Republicans voted early at a higher rate than they did on Election Day. Without early voting or absentee voting in the general, Republicans would have only cast 561,000 out of the 2.58 million ballots they actually cast. Republicans also cast more early votes than Democrats and voted absentee at a higher rate than Democrats in the 2020 general election.
Other relevant findings include the voting patterns of Republican donors and Republican military voters.
Of the 12,100 Republican donors in Georgia, 60% voted early and 38% voted absentee.
In Georgia’s rural counties, more Republicans voted early than Democrats.
In both the 2020 primary and general election, Republican veterans and active duty service members were four times more likely to vote early than on Election Day and twice as likely to cast an absentee ballot than vote in-person on Election Day.
Methodology: Secure Democracy analyzed data from the Georgia Secretary of State. Since the Secretary of State’s office does not release party registration data, a national partisanship model was used to predict party affiliation.
###
About Secure Democracy
Secure Democracy works across the country to educate policymakers and the public about secure and fair elections. Secure Democracy advocates for common-sense steps that our elected leaders can take to safeguard our elections, because voting should be accessible to all eligible citizens—working families, military families, homebound seniors, students, and people in rural communities.