Today, supporters have a final chance to cast a ballot for incumbents and challengers alike in Districts 2, 3 and 5. Voters from District 2 will vote at the William James Educational Complex on Williams Road in the Northwest part of town. Voters in District 3 and 5 will vote at the Bulloch County Parks and Recreation Senior Citizens Center on Max Lockwood Drive. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
All candidates expressed optimism and confidence about their chances for victory, though each also said it will be nice to have a break from the campaigning.
Harry "Bubba" Propes, challenger in District 3, said, "I'm feeling good about (the election) and I'm hoping that everybody in the district will come out and vote to have a say in city politics for the next four years."
Will Britt, incumbent in District 3, said, "We're still very optimistic. I did a lot more legwork than I did in the last one. We’re working very hard until 6:59 tomorrow night."
Last week, 926 people cast their ballots during early voting. District 5 led the way with 363 total vote cast, 64 of which were challenged or provisional. 284 votes were cast in District 2, of which 109 were challenged or provisional. District 3 saw 279 votes cast with 56 challenged or provisional ballots.
Candidates for District 5 also are looking forward to the conclusion of campaigning.
Travis Chance, challenger in District 5, said, "I really appreciate the citizens of Statesboro and Georgia Southern exercising their right to vote. I know they'll vote their conscience."
John Morris, incumbent for District 5, said in an interview Monday night, "I feel really good that the day has finally come and this will all be over tomorrow."
Members of Georgia Southern’s Student Government Association held a rally at the university’s Rotunda Monday evening to encourage students to get out, vote and make their voices heard. In front of a crowd of about 65 people, they tried to clear up any misconceptions that student's don't have the right to vote in Statesboro.
Bryan Toles, student government executive vice president, said representatives of SGA and the Statesboro Citizens for Good Government – who challenged the residency of 909 student voters – met last week to discuss the elector challenges in an attempt to better understand each other.
"People vote about issues that are close to their heart. We might care about issues concerning alcohol and parking, but that is not all. There are a myriad of other issues that affect students in this community as well," Toles said. "We care about those issues too. We are diverse in thought. Some voter registration drives may have been handled improperly, I'm not sure, but that's something that should have been taken up with the board of registrars, not citizens who want to actively engage in the political process."
District 2 incumbent, Gary Lewis, said he will campaign until the close of the polls.
"I'm feeling good," Lewis said, "I'm going to talk to people tonight and talk to people tomorrow. I feel real good about it."
Nathan Queen is the challenger in District 2 opposing Lewis. The Herald was unable to reach Queen for comment.