Ware County is ready for the start of early voting Tuesday, October 15 for next month’s General Election.
Ware County Supervisor of Elections Carlos Nelson said the Board of Elections and Registration’s test of voting equipment September 19 was completed without issue.
“Everything was spot on,” Nelson said late last week. “Testing went as we expected. Everything operated as it should.”
Nelson said Hurricane Helene’s trip through the area September 2627 shouldn’t impact preparations for early voting or Election Day Tuesday, November 5.
He added the voting locations in Manor, Millwood and Waresboro, communities which suffered severely from the storm, were operational.
“We haven’t had any reports of permanent damage at those voting locations,” Nelson said. “If it looked like they would still be without power in a month, we’d have to do some planning, but that doesn’t look like the case.”
Nelson said the timing of the storm will have board members looking at contingency plans for future elections.
“It’s made me think about our need to have a secondary location available,” Nelson said. “What if this storm had hit the Thursday before the election?”
Early voting will continue through Friday, Noverber 1. The period includes two Saturdays and a Sunday opportunity.
Weekday voting hours will be 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. weekdays at the Board of Elections office, 408 Tebeau Street, and the Ware County Administration Building, 305 Oak Street.
Saturday and Sunday voting will only be at the Board of Elections office. Saturday hours will be 9 a.m.5 p.m., October 19 and 26 with the Sunday, October 27 hours 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
The deadline to register to vote and be eligible for the General Election was Monday, October 7. The county’s current number of eligible voters is 22,905 after 22,350 were eligible for May’s General Primary.
There have been 1,332 new registrations this calendar year, with 721 since the runoff election in June, according to Nelson.
Absentee ballots are available now, and may be requested until Friday, October 25. All absentee ballots must be delivered by mail or be in the hands of election officials by the close of the polls at 7 p.m. November 5.
In addition to Presidential and the First District House of Representative races, a contested seat on the City of Waycross Commission also is on the ballot.
The seat is for District 1 where Willie Oliver, Shawn Roberts and Jene Walker have qualified. The seat has been vacant since the death of longtime Commissioner Norman Davis in March.
Any runoffs resulting from the voting November 5 will be held Tuesday, December 3. Voting Election Day will be from 7 a.m. to 7 _______________ p.m. at Nelson locations around the county.
Nelson said the county still is looking for poll workers. Those wanting to participate should visit the board office to get an application.
If there area questions, call (912) 287-4363. Training is planned for Monday, October 14.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said last week his office is continuing to coordinate directly with election offices in Georgia’s 159 counties, ensuring election operations remain on schedule and that counties have the needed resources for a swift recovery.
Raffensperger said the physical infrastructure needed statewide to conduct an election will be fully operational before early voting begins.
“Election workers across Georgia had begun the pre-election testing processes of equipment and facilities to be used in the 2024 election,” he said. “My office is working hard to make sure election workers in the affected counties are safe, that their equipment is undamaged and secure, and their early voting locations will be functional by the time early voting starts.”
