Older Georgia voters drive early turnout as rising gas costs hit home – CBS News

Older Georgia voters drive early turnout as rising gas costs hit home  CBS News

Older voters have cast most of Georgia's early ballots this year. Many of them told CBS News Atlanta one cost hits them harder than any other: gas."You just only get the necessities of life and just try to make the money go a lot further than it has been," said Victoria Williams, a retired Fulton County voter who lives on a fixed income.More than 2.2 million Georgians voted early in person as of Thursday afternoon, according to the Georgia Secretary of State's office. GeorgiaVotes, which tracks state voter data, revealed about 7 in 10 early voters are 50 or older.Andra Gillespie, a political science professor at Emory University, said older voters often make up a bigger share of the vote in a midterm."In midterm elections, midterm electorates tend to be older because most people know that they're supposed to vote in presidential election years.

They are less accustomed to voting in midterm election years," Gillespie said. An AARP poll released in July found rising prices were the top issue for Georgia voters 50 and older. CBS News Atlanta asked voters across Fulton County which bill has gone up the most for them. Each voter with whom we spoke named gas.Williams said gas, health insurance and everyday prices brought her to the polls.George Greenlee is still working. He said he has