Tuesday runoff election brings out 9.19% of Dougherty County’s registered voters
File Photo: Lucille Lannigan
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By Alan Mauldin
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ALBANY – Two countywide races failed to turn out a large number of voters for a Tuesday runoff election, with turnout at a little more than 9%, Dougherty County officials said Wednesday.
In the local contest for a Dougherty Superior Court judgeship, Victoria Johnson came out on top with 4,236 votes, or 66.47% of the votes cast, in unofficial results. Valerie Brown-Williams received 1,632 votes (33.53%) in the race.
For the U.S. House District 2 Republican runoff, less than 600 votes were cast in Dougherty County. In that contest, A. Wayne Johnson received 377 votes, representing 69.69% of the votes cast, and Chuck Hand finished with 164 votes, according to unofficial results.
Johnson easily won the districtwide seat, with 65.72% of the vote. He received 11,909 votes to Hand’s 4,083, according to unofficial results released by the Georgia Secretary of State’s office.
The Republican candidate will face long-time Democratic Rep. Sanford Bishop of Albany.
The district, the state’s largest by land mass, includes most of southwest Georgia, with 28 full counties and part of two counties making up District 2.
Of the county’s 53,511 registered voters, 4,917 cast ballots, a turnout of 9.19%.
Based on the results, Dougherty County Democratic Committee Chair Joyce Barlow said there is a lot of work to be done to boost turnout in the fall.
Although presidential elections tend to drive higher numbers to the polls, the past several elections indicate that there may be voter disinterest in the county, said Barlow, who described Tuesday’s turnout as “dismal.”
“Obviously, we’re disappointed with the turnout,” she said. “It’s going to take a deep dive. We need to talk to people. We have to educate people so they know who the candidates are and know their platforms.
“I want to hear their concerns. Have they just disengaged from the voting process? If so, I want to know why. Some things can be fixed quickly. Some are part of a long-term process.”
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