Judging by the turnout the first few days of early voting, people in Thomas and Grady counties can’t wait to cast their ballots.

The elections offices in both counties reported record numbers of voters as early voting opened Monday. The numbers are similar across the state, as the Secretary of State’s office reported more than 128,000 Georgia voters cast ballots Monday.

Certainly, the presidential election has captured much of the attention among voters. But here in Georgia, we have the rarity of voting for both U.S. Senate seats, along with the U.S. House and Georgia General Assembly races that occur every two years. We also have a few local races, most notably contested sheriff’s elections in both Grady and Thomas counties. 

Many prospective voters have requested absentee ballots. For those voters who requested an absentee ballot and now have decided to take advantage of early voting, they have to surrender that absentee ballot when voting in person.

Early voting will continue Monday through Friday through October 30. For Grady County, early voting takes place at the Grady County Courthouse from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. For Thomas County, early voting takes place at the elections office, 1402 E. Jackson St., from 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

There will be Saturday voting in both Grady and Thomas counties on October 24. from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at both locations.

We long have urged people to take advantage of early voting, in order to avoid standing in long lines on election day. It would be presumptuous for us to think our encouragement had anything to do with these turnouts but it is gratifying to see the number of people who care to have something to say about the future of their community, state and nation.