If the first week of early voting for the General Election November 5 is any indication, Ware County in particular and Georgia in general will threaten records for election turnout.
A total of 4,066 ballots were cast in the county during the first five days of voting Tuesday, October 15 through Saturday, October 19. The county’s total is a portion of the more than 1.5 million cast statewide, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.
The highest total locally came on the first day when 944 people voted, said Ware County Elections Supervisor Carlos Nelson. He said the opening day total was a suprise.
“I thought it would start slow and build up,” he said Monday afternoon, October 21.
Early voting is available at both the Board of Elections office, 408 Tebeau Street, and the Ware County Administration Building, 305 Oak Street.
“We’ve been pretty steady here,” Nelson said of the office on Tebeau Street. “When we have a line, we’re getting people in within about 15 minutes most of the time. There’s seldom a line at the Admin. Building, so we’ll send them over there (if they have a time issue).”
Through Saturday, 3,551 had voted in person and another 515 absentee ballots had been received, Nelson said.
Early voting will continue through Friday, November 1. The period includes opportunities Saturday and Sunday this weekend.
Weekday voting hours are 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. at the two locations. Saturday and Sunday voting will only be at the Board of Elections office.
Saturday hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m., October 26 and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, October 27.
The county’s current number of eligible voters is 22,905 after 22,350 were eligible for May’s General Primary.
Absentee ballots 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.
Voting on Election Day Tuesday, November 5 will be 7 a.m.-7 p.m., at locations around the county.
In addition to Presidential and the First District House of Representative races, a contested seat on the Waycross City Commission also is on the ballot.
That post is for District 1 where Willie Oliver, Shawn Roberts and Jené Walker have qualified. The seat has been vacant since the death of longtime Commissioner Norman Davis in March.
Barring the need for a runoff, which would be held Tuesday, December 3, the winner will be sworn in when the vote is certified. That will allow them to participate in the commission’s final meetings of the month Monday- Tuesday, November 18-19.
