Turnout light for District 71 early voting; Voter registrar's office open Saturday
By SARAH FAY CAMPBELL
sarah@newnan.com
Turnout was incredibly light the first two days of early voting in the special election for the Georgia House District 71 seat.
Early voting began Wednesday, and continues this week and next. The special election will be held Feb. 5.
There had been 50 voters, total, as of 2:45 p.m. Thursday, said Coweta Chief Registrar Joan Hamilton. "It's just slow," Hamilton said. However, "I imagine Saturday will be fairly busy."
Weekday early voting hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Saturday early voting hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Early voting takes place at the Coweta County Voter Registration Office, located at 22 East Broad Street, in the Coweta administration building in downtown Newnan.
Voters need to bring a government issued photo ID. You must live in District 71 to be eligible to vote in the election. Districts changed because of redistricting, and the Senoia and Haralson areas are no longer part of the district. HD 71 covers most of the eastern half of the county.
If you don't know what district you live in, the easiest way to check is by using the Georgia Secretary of State's My Voter Page, at www.sos.georgia.gov/mvp . Those without internet access can contact the voter registration office at 770-254-2615.
Dennis and Peggy Presley were among the few who came out Wednesday to vote at the Coweta County Administration Building.
They like early voting and do it "every time we get a chance," Dennis said. He likes to vote early so that he doesn't "have to stand in long lines early in the morning." Plus, the ladies at the voter registration office are very nice, he said.
"I hate lines," Dennis said. Even during elections when there is heavy turnout for early voting, the lines aren't nearly as bad as they would be at the polling places, he said.
The longest they ever had to stand in line was about 20 minutes, Peggy said. At the precinct, however, "I've waited for an hour or more," said Dennis.
The special election for House District 71 will be Feb. 5. A runoff, if needed, will be March 5. There are six candidates: five Republicans and one Democrat. They are: Republicans Richard Weisser, David Stover, Darryl Marmon, Michael Farbo Jr. and Tom Crymes, and Democrat Cynthia Bennett.
Monday is the deadline for candidates to submit their campaign finance disclosures to the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission. Candidate disclosures, as well as lobbyist reports, can be viewed on the commission's website at ethics.ga.gov .
