Thousands of people lined up at polling stations across Georgia Monday to begin voting early.

The high turnout may have a crucial impact on the November election. Some of the longest waits at polling locations were reported in Hall and Cobb counties, where the wait to cast a ballot was as long as two hours.

Dr. Merle Black, a professor of politics at Emory University, says if the early voter numbers are anything like they were in 2008, they could have a significant effect on the presidential election:

“In 2008 in Georgia more people voted in the early stages either through absentee or by early voting, that actually showed up on election day. That was very, very unusual, I don’t think we’ve ever had that experience before.

Tonya Moore, Elections Supervisor in Catoosa County says she’s seen a huge voter turnout the last two days.

“It’s a convenience—they can come here, vote early, we have 2 early voting locations, they can come here, they don’t have to wait in line. Actually, now, we have more turnout on early voting than we do on election day.”

Four years ago, more than 2 million Georgia voters cast ballots before election day, either in person or by mail.

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