Published Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Coweta voter turnout 66%

By Winston Skinner

The Newnan Times-Herald

Despite the large number of early voters in Coweta County, many local residents found themselves waiting in line to cast their ballots in Tuesday's historic election.

The 2008 election saw the election of the nation's first African-American president, the widespread use of the Internet as a campaign tool and a shrinking role for Election Day in states -- including Georgia -- with early voting.

Almost as many Cowetans voted prior to the official date as made their way to the polls Tuesday. Coweta County has 80,273 registered voters, and there were 29,463 votes cast.

A total of 19,937 Cowetans cast early votes in person. As of late Monday afternoon, some 3,605 paper ballots had been submitted, with more expected. That would bring the total early/absentee votes -- which are tallied as a single precinct -- to 23,542, which is 29.33 percent of Coweta's registered voters.

Coweta's reputation as a Republican stronghold was strengthened Tuesday. With all but early/absentee votes tallied, presidential candidate John McCain and U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss were running well ahead of their statewide totals in Coweta.

While it appeared Chambliss would return to the Senate without a runoff, McCain lost the presidential contest to Barack Obama. At 11 p.m., the nation's major news organizations -- CNN, ABC, CBS, MSNBC, Fox News and Associated Press -- all projected Obama as the next president. McCain made a concession speech to his supporters about a half hour later.

Cool temperatures and sunny skies made the wait as enjoyable as possible for voters waiting in line in Coweta Tuesday. "The day could not have been more perfect," observed Tippie Conner, poll manager at the fifth precinct at Newnan City Hall.

Barbara Waites, assistant poll manager at city hall, said the first voter in line told her she arrived at 4:30 a.m. with a chair. There were about 15 people in line there when poll workers began arriving at 5:45 a.m.

"I couldn't believe there were people waiting when we got here," Conner said.

At 7:45 a.m., there were some 300 people in line at Thomas Crossroads Elementary School. Workers directed traffic at the school, and even during the commuter crush, voters could complete the process in about an hour and 15 minutes.

It took a similar amount of time early Tuesday morning to vote at Newnan City Hall. Among the people arriving between 6-6:30, many brought a novel or magazine, and several also came prepared with a camp stool or lawn chair. Some parents brought their children along with snacks and toys. One youngsters rolled his Matchbox car on the pavement while he waited in line with family members.

At White Oak Elementary School, there were long lines in the early morning. Some voters parked a nearby Arnall Middle School.

A wait of about 90 minutes was reported at the Greentop Road precinct from a voter who arrived around 7 a.m. The wait at Madras at that time was about an hour and 45 minutes.

Voter lines were thinning by around 9 a.m. Voters at Newnan City Hall were simply walking in and voting by 12:45 p.m. Also around noon, voters at Smokey Road MIddle School were waiting about 45 minutes.

At at least one rural polling place, Dresden on Highway 34 West, voters completed the process in about 10 minutes at mid-morning. About 11 a.m., voters could also cast their ballots in just a few minutes at Central Educational Center in Newnan.

Although the rush at city hall died down, there was "never a time when there wasn't soembody coming in," Conner said. "It surprised me we had so much this morning."

Because of anticipated crowds for voting, the Coweta County School System got permission from the Georgia Department of Education to cancel classes Tuesday. Teachers reported for duty -- some to other school system buildings to leave parking available for voters.

Some local businesses got into the election spirit. Starbucks offered a free 12-ounce coffee to voters, and people sporting "I'm A Georgia Voter" stickers got in line again for a free chicken tender lunch at Shane's Rib Shack.

The Costume Shop in downtown Newnan offered voters with a sticker a steep discount on any Election Day purchase -- with extra cuts on the prices of political masks. "We know that the most important duty we all have as citizens is to exercise our right to vote," said Samantha McDaniel, one of the owners of the upper floor emporium.

Democratic and Republican voters gathered at locations around the county to watch results Tuesday evening. Republican Party Chairman Joe Beamon and Emma Hinesley kept track of results at Republican Party Headquarters on Jackson Street.

Around the corner at Redneck Gourmet, State Rep. Billy Horne chatted with supporters while Sally Brass, mother of county commission candidate Rob Brass, kept track of changing tallies on The Times-Herald's Web site.

At Obama headquarters on East Broad Street -- one of approximately 25 set up across Georgia -- supporters watched television updates in two different rooms, exploding with cheers when another state was projected for their candidate.