Secretary of State’s office certifies results of record-breaking election

ATLANTA — Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp announced this week the certified ballot count for the Nov. 8 General Election shattered previous records. With 4,165,405 ballots cast out of 5,443,046 active registered voters, turnout was calculated at 76.53 percent.

Dougherty County also had a solid turnout with 34,446 (70.19 percent) of 49,074 registered voters casting ballots.

Georgians broke a record in the number of votes cast during a year in which national turnout was below average.

“I am thrilled to see Georgians’ enthusiasm this cycle,” Kemp said in a news release. “Voters turned out in record numbers for the SEC Primary, and that trend has continued all year long.”

Kemp was the architect of the “SEC Primary,” a regional primary that attracted presidential candidates to Georgia and other states during a critical period of the primary process. During their visits, Georgians had the opportunity to meet with candidates and attend events, building enthusiasm that carried through to November.

In addition, Kemp’s office provided new tools to voters that were not available in the previous presidential cycle. Voters could register to vote 24 hours a day, seven days a week on the Secretary of State Office’s Online Voter Registration Page.

In addition, the new text 2VOTE feature and the GA SOS smartphone app gave additional platforms for citizens to register. The app also provided the functionality of the office’s My Voter Page, allowing voters to look up their sample ballot, find their polling place or request an absentee ballot from their smartphone.

“These new e-government solutions gave easier access for voters to the polls than ever before in Georgia, and they have advanced my goal for Georgia’s elections – making it easy to vote and hard to cheat,” said Kemp.

The certified statewide vote showed Republican Donald Trump winning the U.S. president’s election in Georgia (51.05 percent, 2,089,104) over Democrat Hillary Clinton. Republican U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson earned a third six-year term in Washington (54.80 percent, 2,135,806) over Democratic challenger Jim Barksdale (41.04 percent, 1,599,726).

In area races for U.S. Congress, incumbents Sanford Bishop, D-Albany, who represents District 2, and Austin Scott, R-Tifton, who represents District 8, easily won re-election.

Bishop (61.23 percent, 148,543) defeated Greg Duke (38.77 percent, 94,056), while Scott rolled (67.64 percent, 173,983) over James Neal Harris (32.36 percent, 83,225).

In the only contested Dougherty County Georgia House race, District 151 incumbent Republican Gerald Greene ( 62.13 percent, 12,675) cruised past independent Kenneth Zackery (37.87 percent, 7,726).

In a related state Senate Race, incumbent Republican Greg Duke (72.09 percent, 43,534) of Americus crushed challenger Ruenette Melton (27.91 percent, 16,853) to earn his second term in Atlanta.