As the July 20 primary election nears, voting traffic is picking up after a slow start, Fayette County Elections Superintendent Tom Sawyer said.
Early voting has been taking place at the elections office in Fayetteville since June 7, and two additional polling places opened Monday at the Tyrone Library and the Peachtree City Library. Voters can cast ballots at all three sites through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. No voting will take place anywhere next Monday.
Sawyer said early voting has been slow, with only 1,125 ballots cast through Friday. "That's the number we usually see in a day in some of our busy election years," Sawyer noted.
However, he said Monday, that interest seems to be picking up, with a steady stream of early voters visiting the county elections office and the Peachtree City Library to cast ballots. Tyrone's voting was a little slower, he noted.
A couple of big local races will be decided in the Republican primary since there are no Democrats in the running. County Commission Chairman Jack Smith will face off against former Peachtree City Mayor Steve Brown for the Post 4 commission seat, while incumbent Eric Maxwell is going up against Allen McCarty. In the Post 4 Board of Education race, GOP incumbent Bob Todd is being challenged by Charlie Cave.
Major statewide races that will probably end in runoffs include the gubernatorial race, which has seven candidates on the Republican and Democratic side. Nine candidates are running as Republicans for insurance commissioner; only one Democrat is seeking that office.
Sawyer said he thinks people are beginning to realize that the election is nearing, and they need to make decisions. Sample ballots are posted at the board of elections website, www.fayettecountyga.gov/elections. Sawyer said they have had a lot of requests for them. The Georgia Secretary of State's office has started www.vote.ga.gov, which offers customized sample ballots based on the voter's address.
Sawyer also said many people seem stunned by the number of candidates in the state races and are asking for advice, which he and his staff, of course, can't dispense. What they are doing is referring voters to several websites, including the Georgia Voter Guide, produced by the League of Women Voters. It can be found at www.thevoterguide.org.
Absentee ballots can be downloaded from the Fayette Elections office website and faxed back to them at 770-305-5449. You can also call the elections office at 770-305-5408 for more information.
Sawyer also said many of the early and advance voters don't understand that they must choose either a Democrat or Republican ballot in a primary election. If there is a runoff--and with so many candidates in some state races, there surely will be--voters must vote the same party that they voted in the general primary.
If they did not vote in the general primary, they can still vote in a runoff, he noted.
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