The Oglethorpe Echo
Oglethorpe County election supervisor Marilyn Huff-Waller said “everything has been running smoothly” during early voting leading into next Tuesday’s general primary.
“We’ve been getting a lot of compliments, and people have been volunteering, saying ‘What can we do?’ (and) ‘If you need me, just let me know,’” she said. “So that’s been great.”
Huff-Waller said 869 residents had voted early in-person as of 11:45 a.m. Tuesday and another 104 absentee ballots had been counted through Monday.
Early voting continues through May 15. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 19.
This year’s elections impacts many of the state’s top leadership positions, including governor, lieutenant governor, U.S. Senate, U.S. House and Secretary of State.
With Gov. Brian Kemp departing the office after serving two terms, both parties are running competitive primaries, with seven Democrats and eight Republicans running for governor.
The frontrunners include Keisha Lance Bottoms, a former mayor of Atlanta, Geoff Duncan, a former Republican lieutenant governor, and Michael Thurmond on the Democratic ticket. Rick Jackson, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger are on the Republican ticket.
Republicans have a crowded race with five candidates vying for a spot against U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff. Those candidates include Earl L. “Buddy” Carter and Mike Collins, U.S. House representatives, and Derek Dooley, a former college football coach who has been endorsed by Kemp.
Locally, incumbent county commissioners Howard Sanders (District 1), David Clark (District 3) and Tracy Norman (District 5) are on the ballot.
Clark is running unopposed, but Britt Brooks is running against Sanders and Randolph (Randy) Gordon is running against Norman.
Incumbent Susan Robinson (District 3) is running unopposed for her seat on the Oglethorpe County Board of Education, but Jenny Wisham and Thomas Carroll are running for the District 5 seat held by Chair Becky Soto, who isn’t seeking reelection after 12 years on the BOE.
No Democrats qualified for any county seats.
At the state level, Smithonia’s Catie Young is running against Lorraine V. Thomas for the right to run against State Sen. Lee Anderson, R-Grovetown, who represents District 24, which includes Oglethorpe County.
The Board of Elections isn’t expecting a large turnout for the primary.
Steve McCannon, the county’s election assistant, said 30% of eligible voters typically participate in primary elections.
“Your vote counts, every vote counts,” he said. “You never know when there’s going to be a one-vote margin.”