Early voting turnout heavy in Albany
Voters have been lining up to cast early ballots for the Nov. 6 general election
By Gypsy Crow
ALBANY — Elections officials in Albany said Monday turnout for early voting for the Nov. 6 general election has been heavier than expected in the county.
By Monday afternoon, more than 6,000 ballots had been cast, according to Elections officials.
Early voting in the state began on Oct. 15 and will continue until Friday. All 159 counties in Georgia voted on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m, and in Albany, early voting extended an extra day on Sunday to fill community demand.
The Albany/Dougherty County Board of Registration and Elections voted 3-2 in favor of extending the early vote to Sunday, and between the hours of 1-5 p.m., 433 people voted. Five hundred thirty people voted in the county on Saturday.
According to Dougherty County Elections Supervisor Ginger Nickerson, early voting turnout has been high for this election. She said that on the first day of early voting, 124 people came into the Elections office to cast ballots and there has been a “steady climb” every day since. On a Friday, she said, Elections officials recorded almost 800 voters.
Asked if she thought that Hurricane Michael affected voter turnout in any way, Nickerson said that it had not. In fact, she said that she and Elections officials wished that voting turnout was like this for every election.
“I think people are still concerned with all that they’ve been through,” Nickerson said. “They still have it on their mind to be civic-minded and come out and vote. In light of everything that has gone on with our city, they’re to be commended for coming out and exercising their right to vote.
“I’m thinking it may be the races that are on the ballot that pull the people out to vote. I just hope they realize that every election is important, that every race is important, that they need to come out and exercise their right to vote for every one of them. But I’m thinking it’s more along the lines of the races that are on the ballot this time that have everyone out to vote.”
The Albany/Dougherty Voter Registration and Elections Office has a link to the state’s “My Voter Page,” which provides voter registration status, polling locations and a sample ballot with candidates and amendments.
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