Early voting ends; Election Day is Tuesday
From staff reports
More than 4,000 ballots were cast in Bulloch County during early voting, which ended Friday.
As of Friday afternoon, 3,771 ballots were cast in person, and 472 were mailed in, said Bulloch County Elections Supervisor Pat Lanier Jones. She added the Elections and Voter Registration Office is waiting to receive 189 more that were mailed out.
Statewide, as of Friday morning, 798,309 ballots were cast — 714,219 in person and 84,090 by mail — according to data released by Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp.
For those who missed early voting, there is one last chance to make your voice heard — on Election Day itself. The polls will be open at all normal precincts across Bulloch County on Tuesday, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
General election races include:
U.S. Senate — Democrat Michelle Nunn, Republican David Perdue, and Libertarian Amanda Swafford;
Governor — Democrat Jason Carter, incumbent Republican Nathan Deal and Libertarian Andrew Hunt;
U.S. Representative in the 12th Congressional District — Republican Rick Allen and incumbent Democrat John Barrow;
Georgia Insurance Commissioner – Incumbent Republican Ralph T. Hudgens, Democrat Elizabeth “Liz” Johnson of Bulloch County and Libertarian Edward T. “Ted” Metz; and
Georgia Agriculture Commissioner — Incumbent Republican Gary Black and Democrat Christopher James Irvin.
Also, Statesboro residents will be able to vote in the special city election regarding the Redevelopment Powers Law, which is targeted at encouraging development in the blighted portions of South Main Street and other areas.
The Redevelopment Powers Law enables local governments, with a one-time voter approval, to designate blighted or underdeveloped areas as tax allocation districts. This neither creates a tax nor increases rates, but any growth in property tax revenue from new buildings and rising real estate values in a TAD must be spent on improvements benefitting the district. The law also empowers local governments to issue bonds for redevelopment projects to be repaid with the growth revenues.
Some Statesboro city residents will have to vote in two different places because the city vote is separate from the other general-election issues. Residents who live in City Council Districts 1 and 2 will vote at the William James Educational Complex, 150 Williams Road. Residents in Council Districts 3, 4 and 5 will vote at Pittman Park United Methodist Church, 1102 Fair Road.
For the general-election ballot, with those high-profile statewide and congressional races, voters should go to the precinct in which they are registered.
If a runoff is required in any state race, it would be held Dec. 2. Any federal election that requires a runoff would be held Jan. 6. Georgia law requires a runoff in any election that does not result in the top vote-getter receiving a majority of votes cast (50 percent plus 1).
You can check your voter registration status and your precinct at www.mvp.sos.ga.gov. If you’re not registered, it’s too late for this election or the runoff, should one be required, but you can still register for future elections. Georgians with a valid Georgia driver’s license can go online and register at https://registertovote.sos.ga.gov/GAOLVR/.
The “GA Votes” mobile app also allows Georgians to register to vote. Using the MVP feature on the app, Georgia voters can view their specific sample ballot, find their polling locations, check voter registration status and track the status of their absentee ballot. All of this information is available on mobile devices on Apple and Android platforms. To find the app, search for “GA Votes” in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
GAINESVILLE, Ga. — The candidates for Georgia governor campaigned in separate areas of the state on Saturday, with both Republican Gov. Nathan Deal and Democrat Jason Carter counting on support from big names in a final push to Tuesday's election.
Deal wrapped up a statewide bus tour in his hometown of Gainesville that included a visit from Republican Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey. Christie urged Deal's supporters to give him a second term and not let the race go to a runoff.
A candidate must earn more than 50 percent of the vote or the top two vote-getters compete again on Dec. 2. Libertarian Andrew Hunt also is on the ballot.
"If we have a runoff, I'm coming back and I'm going to be looking for the people in this room who let me down," Christie said, laughing with the crowd.
The visit was Christie's second to Georgia during the campaign, and the Republican Governors Association he chairs has poured more than $3 million into Deal's re-election bid.
Meanwhile, Carter traveled on his own bus tour with stops in Vidalia and Baxley before talking with tailgaters outside the Georgia's football game against Florida in Jacksonville, Fla. Carter's grandfather, former President Jimmy Carter, visited campaign offices in metro Atlanta.
"(Georgia) is on our way down, but we can change that," Jimmy Carter told a group of more than 30 volunteers in a campaign office in downtown Jonesboro. He asked them to commit to 5 or 10 phone calls to friends and family before Tuesday's election.
Carter's campaign said the candidate's south Georgia swing demonstrates the state senator's commitment to representing the entire state if he's elected. Carter spokesman Bryan Thomas said Georgians don't need advice from a New Jersey governor.
"It's amazing that things have gotten so bad for Gov. Deal that he needs to rely on New Jersey politics and money and apparently to tell us how to run our state," Thomas said. "We see that as a total sign of weakness that they have to rely on Gov. Christie, and it shows the governor is in big trouble going into Election Day."
Deal told reporters before the Gainesville rally that wrapping up his final statewide bus tour was bittersweet but he's feeling confident going into Tuesday. His campaign plans a fly-around to several cities on Monday.
"The indications are our people are turning out to vote, and we're very encouraged by that," Deal said.
He later told the crowd of supporters they were essential for a win on Tuesday.
"Nobody could ask for a better hometown or community to have support than I have," Deal said. "You came to the forefront four years ago, you brought us through, you made it possible for me to get the nomination and then you came back out in the general election and allowed me to serve as your governor for the last four years."