Atlanta, Georgia - Turnout on the first day of early voting in Georgia was at a record high on Tuesday, with more than 300,000 votes cast in the Peach State, election authorities said.

That was more than twice as much as the previous record of 136,000 in 2020, according to figures provided by Gabriel Sterling, the public administrator in charge of elections in the state.

"The first day of early voting is a blowout," Sterling wrote on X.

In another post, he said: "Those that say democracy is dying ... the voters of Georgia would like to have a word. Over 300,000 votes cast today! That's 123% higher than the old record for the 1st day. Great job counties & voters."

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Separately on Tuesday, a Georgia judge rejected Republican efforts to require hand counting of all votes. The Republican-controlled state elections board had pushed through a rule that was to take effect on October 22.

But election officials and ballot workers strongly objected to the change, saying hand counting is cumbersome and unreliable. Fulton County Superior Judge Robert McBurney agreed, saying "anything that adds uncertainty and disorder to the electoral process disserves the public."

Many feared the hand counting would not only be inaccurate but would throw the elections process into chaos.

Georgia is a highly contested state that President Joe Biden won by 11,779 votes. It's also at the center of Republican candidate Donald Trump's infamous call to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who was asked in 2020 "to find" the votes needed for him to win the state.

The call is part of a criminal racketeering case against Trump and other defendants, who are accused of trying to overturn the state's 2020 election results.