ATLANTA — Nearly 180,000 Georgians voted on the first day of early voting for the 2026 midterm elections, topping the previous first-day record by more than 40,000, the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office said Tuesday evening. The 2022 midterm election had set the earlier mark, with more than 135,000 people voting on its opening day. Michon Lindstrom, a senior communications director for the office, said the 2026 total was already approaching 180,000. Early voting has grown in popularity in Georgia. More than 1 million people voted early in the 2022 midterms, and state officials said the strong opening-day turnout suggests that total could be surpassed this year. The office also reported about 130,000 requests for absentee ballots. Nearly 286,000 were requested by the end of the 2022 midterms. Absentee ballots must reach a voter’s county election office by 7 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 3. The ballot includes high-profile U.S. Senate and governor’s races, as well as three proposed constitutional amendments. One, Amendment 3, would authorize state lawmakers to establish and fund the Georgia Next Generation 911 Fund to improve emergency communications systems around the state. The proposal comes as Georgia’s emergency call infrastructure faces questions about its age and reliability. The Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency said about 88% of the state’s 911 centers still use older systems, with only some communities having begun the transition to next-generation technology. The agency said the system is rooted in technology designed in the 1960s for landline calls. Atlanta’s 911 services were disrupted for hours by technical problems just weeks before voting began. Lindstrom urged voters to check what is on their ballot and bring photo identification, regardless of whether they vote early, by mail or on Election Day. She noted that local and statewide contests and ballot measures extend beyond the Senate and governor’s races receiving the most attention.