Voter turnout steady at several Dougherty County precincts

ALBANY – There were no long lines at several Dougherty County precincts visited by The Albany Herald on election day morning, but a steady flow of voters were filing in at the Merry Acres, Covenant Presbyterian Church and Shiloh Baptist Church precincts.

“It’s been steady, but kind of slow,” said Melondy Knight, who was holding a sign for District 4 County Commission candidate Russell Gray with Martin Thomas outside the Covenant precinct. “Now when people start getting off work, it’s probably going to pick up.”

The two said they had been outside since about 9:30 a.m. and were getting reactions from a number of drivers passing by on the street.

“Some people honk,” Knight said. “Some people wave. Some people don’t look up. But we smile and wave.”

The contest between incumbent Republican Gray and Democratic challenger Anthony Patterson is the only local race on the ballot in Dougherty County. 

Most of the voters said they were voting for change in the Tuesday election, including Charlie Hudson, who cast her ballot at Covenant.

“I feel it is my duty, and I want to see change happen,” she said. “In order for that to happen, I feel like it is important to get out and support the things I would like to see changed.”

Clinton Shaw, who came out of the precinct a few minutes later, said that he always votes in every election. 

“It is definitely important,” he said. “It is important for everybody to vote, especially if you’re concerned about what’s going on. They’re (individual races) all important. It concerns everybody.”

On Tuesday afternoon, the Dougherty County Voter Registration and Elections Office announced that a ballot scanner malfunction had been addressed. The faulty scanner at the Sherwood Elementary School precinct was reported to the Georgia Secretary of State’s office, and a technician was dispatched to repair it.

Ballots returned during the time the computer was not working were placed in a designated emergency ballot bin to ensure they remained secured. Those ballots were to be counted at 7 p.m.

At the Merry Acres precinct on Tuesday morning, Beth Birdsong was assisting her mother, who recently had knee surgery, with voting after casting her own ballot earlier in Mitchell County. The mother declined to speak on the election, but Birdsong said that voting in every election is a priority for her.

“So our voices can be heard and we get the right people elected,” she said.

Directing voters to the voting precinct, which is located inside the school gym, the Rev. Donny Green said he was hesitant to believe that the rain predicted later in the afternoon would deter voters. Green, the minister at Bible Way Missionary Baptist Church, was working as a poll chaplain/peacekeeper for the Faiths United to Save Democracy group. 

“Rain, sleet or snow, people show up,” he said. “I’m nonpartisan … just making sure we have a peaceful (day) of voting.

“It’s been a steady flow here and over at Westover (High School) and Sherwood. I think our young people need to get a little more concerned. The older people will come out and vote. Our young people and middle-aged people don’t understand the importance of voting.”

After casting his ballot, Darrell Howard said that among the races he thought were important were the gubernatorial and County Commission contests.

“I voted Keisha (Lance Bottoms) for governor,” he said. “She seems like she will do a good job. She might be a little fairer. A.J. (Patterson), the same thing; he’s somebody who will be fair.”