Gwinnett Daily Post

In this photograph from Oct. 15, more than a hundred people wait in line to vote early.

LAWRENCEVILLE -- A steady stream of early voters continue to cast their ballots early in Gwinnett.

Elections Director Lynn Ledford said on Monday that about 22,000 people had voted by mail-in or early in-person voting. At the Gwinnett County Board of Registration and Elections Office, Ledford said there have been about 1,500 to 2,000 people voting per day, and there were about 8,000 last week total, the first week in-person early voting was available. Early voting runs through Nov. 2.

In-person wait time remains less than an hour most of the day, and about an hour and 15 minutes around lunch time, Ledford said.

Ledford said she expects a spike in turnout from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday at the Elections Office as it's the only Saturday during this voting period that people can cast ballots.

Next week, four satellite offices will open in Snellville, Suwanee, Dacula and Norcross.

Ledford said because people are closer to home, they would be more likely to vote, and the hours of 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. make it more likely people would vote after work.

"The big push will be everybody next week," Ledford said.

Georgia legislators changed the law before the 2008 presidential election so that anyone could vote early within 45 days of the election without having to state a reason.

Ledford said it's difficult to compare this presidential election with 2008 because four years ago early voting began 45 days before, while this time started with 21 days.

The satellite office is at Centerville Community Center in Snellville, George Pierce Park Community Recreation Center in Suwanee, Dacula Park Activity Building in Dacula and Lucky Shoals Park Community Recreation Center in Norcross.