Election Day is on the horizon, but many White County voters have turned out to cast their ballot early.
“We’re definitely seeing higher numbers than we’ve seen before,” County Elections Superintendent Garrison Baker said. “At the rate we’re going I would anticipate we’re going to have around 7,000 advanced voters, and around 3,000 absentee by mail because we’ll still be processing those up to Election Day.”
White County Chief Registrar Lisa Manning said that as of 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 6,450 voters have cast their ballot since in-person early voting started on Oct. 13. In regards to absentee ballots, there have been 4,015 sent out to voters, and 2,716 have been received back.
Baker added that he anticipates there will be at least 10,000 ballots casts before Election Day. He also said that if the turnout continues, there could be 5,000 to 6,000 ballots cast on Election Day. Because of the possibility of a high turnout and having to social distance, there is a chance that voters will have to wait a little bit on Election Day.
For the 2020 presidential election, Manning said there are 20,626 active voters, and in 2016 there were approximately 17,000 active voters.
In regards to votes cast, in the 2016 presidential election, Manning said there were 6,421 people that voted early then, and 548 absentee ballots returned.
“As of today we have passed 2016’s in person voting numbers and as you can see the absentee ballot numbers are way more than the ones in 2016,” Manning said. “I would say record breaking for this county.”
In-person, early voting ends on Friday, Oct. 30, and takes place at the White County Voter Registrar Office (1241 Helen Highway, Suite 210-A, in Cleveland) from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Voting on Election Day is from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and takes place at the normal voting precinct.
Voters can verify where their polling place is located by visiting or calling the Voter Registrar Office in advance, as well as checking online at the Georgia Secretary of State’s My Voter Page – mvp.sos.ga.gov. The My Voter Page can also be used to review one’s voter registration and check the status of a submitted absentee ballot.