55% of Pike voted early; vote Tuesday if you haven’t

Voters in Pike and across the state set records for the number of early voters and more than half of Pike registered voters cast their ballots before election day on Nov. 3.A total of 7,968 citizens in Pike cast their ballots during early voting or turned in absentee ballots – for a record-setting 55% turnout. Of those, 6,616 voted at the elections office and 1,352 returned absentee ballots.Election results for the county can be found at pikecountygeorgia.com. ’We have had great turnout for advanced voting,’ said election supervisor Lynn Vickers. ‘I want to say a huge thanks to the staff working the early in-person voting and for registrar clerk Christi Blount for all their hard work. Thanks to the community for their support of the Board of Elections office and staff. Statewide, there were 3,902,961 ballots cast in Georgia as of the end of the three-week early voting period. That’s a 63% increase in total turnout with a 22% increase in early in-person voting and a 559% increase in absentee by mail voting. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger had high praise for Pike’s elections supervisor Lynn Vickers. ’Our county election officials are the true superheroes of elections,’ said Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. ‘These dedicated election officials form the backbone of election administration in Georgia. It is thanks to their hard work and dedication that polls open, votes are counted, and Georgians get to share their voice at the ballot box.’Lynn Vickers was responsible for making sure the county’s 26,296 voters had access to ballots. She and other elections officials processed and mailed absentee ballots, set up early in-person voting, and made sure polling locations are open, staffed, and equipped for Election Day.County elections officials are also responsible for all the counting of votes. After polls close on Election Day, polling precinct managers transmitted their Election Day totals to county officials who combined those vote totals with early, in-person votes and absentee by mail votes to produce the final results for the county. ‘With record turnout, and managing a new voting machine, these officials stayed at their posts and stared COVID down – making sure that record-breaking numbers of Georgians were able to cast ballots,’ said Chris Harvey, Georgia Elections Director.