Polls in Dougherty, Lee counties will be open for three days of early voting during week of Thanksgiving

ALBANY – Albany residents can add one more item to their Thanksgiving week to-do list: Casting a ballot for one of two candidates in the mayoral and Ward VI Albany City Commission runoff election in the days leading up to the holiday.

Early voting in the runoff between incumbent Mayor Dorothy Hubbard and Albany attorney Kermit “Bo” Dorough will be held on Nov. 25, 26 and 27, according to Dougherty Elections supervisor Ginger Nickerson.

There also is a runoff election for the Ward VI seat on the City Commission in which John Hawthorne faces Demetrius Young.

Elections Supervisor Ginger Nickerson was uncertain whether the timing of early voting during the week that kicks off the Christmas holiday season in earnest will help or hinder turnout.

“I hope people look at it as a convenience,” she said. “While they’re out and about, running around, they can vote.”

Early voting is from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. each day in Room 220 of the Government Center building at 222 Pine Ave., during the three-day period. On the Dec. 3 election, voters should cast ballots at their precinct.

Some voters have indicated interest in the race, Nickerson said.

“I can say we have fielded some phone calls, so we know people are aware it’s taking place,” she said.

Voters who did not register in time to vote in the Nov. 5 election are ineligible to vote in the mayoral and commission runoff contests. However, all registered voters who live in the city or Ward VI can vote even if they did not vote in the in the Nov 5 election.

Voters can check eligibility online by visiting https://registertovote.sos.ga.gov.

On Nov. 5 Hubbard received the most votes in the seven-person mayoral race, finishing with 3,501, or 30.25%. Second-place finisher Dorough received 3,206 votes, or 27.7%, of the 11,572 ballots cast.

James Pratt Jr. finished third with 1,146 votes, followed by Tracy Taylor with 641 votes, Omar Salaam with 189 votes and Edward Allen, who received 91 votes.

Smith and Young are vying for a four-year term as the replacement for Ward VI City Commissioner Tommie Postell, who did not seek re-election.

On Nov. 5, Young came out on top on election night with 705 votes, or 44.71%. Hawthorne finished just behind with 692 votes – 43.88% – to force the runoff election between the two. Leroy Smith received 177 votes, or 11.22%.

Lee County voters also return to the polls in a runoff for a special election in state House District 152 to choose between Leesburg Mayor Jim Quinn and Bill Yearta, the former mayor of Sylvester. The winner will serve out the final year of the term of Ed Rynders, who resigned earlier this year.

The district also includes Worth County and a portion of Sumter County.

Early voting in Lee County also is Nov. 25, 26 and 27, from 8:15a.m.-5 p.m. each day, at 100 Starksville Ave. North, Suite C.

Nearly 26 percent of voters cast ballots on Nov. 5, Elections Supervisor Veronica Johnson said. That was a good turnout, considering that only 18 percent of registered voters came out for the May 2018 general primary contests.

“It would be nice if everybody turned out again and some of their friends joined them,” she said. “We hope the regulars we have for every election will turn out to vote that Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.”

Smithville voters also will return to the polls to choose between incumbent Mayor Jack Smith and Vincent Cutts in a runoff contest there.

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