This story was updated on Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 1:56 p.m.
Tuesday marks the start of in-person early voting in Georgia, as the campaigns of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump continue to push their get-out-of-the-vote efforts.
On Friday, as a group of Trump campaign volunteers waited for a visit from Vice Presidential nominee JD Vance at a Lawrenceville field office, some logged into an app on their smartphones and started calling voters.
Gwinnett County resident Debi Foley says they have been asking voters how they are doing after the hurricanes and if they have a plan for voting, whether it is early, in-person or by mail. They have also sent this message to those who plan on voting for Trump.
“Just let them know that President Trump is encouraging everybody to vote as early as possible,” she said. “In case something crazy happens and you can’t get to the polls on Election Day like a hurricane.”
Foley, a retired teacher who also phone banks from home and knocks on doors, explains why she has gotten involved in this campaign.
She notes that although she was voted since being registered at 18, it was the 2008 election in particular that marked a pivotal change for her.
“That affected my students and affected my family and me personally,” she noted. “And it’s like, this is important and it started to slide really fast these last, well, the last four years.”
After Vance’s arrival, he greeted the volunteers and emphasized the importance of voter interaction.
“Every single time we make a voter contact, and you expand that by 10,000 contacts a week, and you take what all you’re doing and then every other county where we were doing the same thing in the State of Georgia,” the vice presidential nominee said.
In downtown Atlanta on Monday, Harris campaign volunteers gathered in the parking lot of a field office on Decatur Street to pick up campaign signs and t-shirts and attend a rally by Stacey Abrams and others.
Jeanine Jackson, a volunteer assisting with the setup, said she knows exactly what is driving her to volunteer for Harris.
“Everything that she stands for, just to restore democracy, reproductive rights for women and just she is … in my eyes, the better candidate,” she said.
The Democratic volunteer has been phone banking for the campaign and shares one of the key questions she is asking.
“What is your plan? And preferably [encourage them] to vote early so that there are no mishaps on Election Day.”
During the event, Abrams encouraged the audience to cast their vote for the candidate they think is best.
“Now voters have to show up and show everyone that Georgia wasn’t a fluke,” she said. “We need folks to start voting tomorrow because early voting is how we get this done.”
In-person early voting runs through Nov. 1. Voter registration status and sample ballots can be accessed at the Georgia My Voter page.
