Early voting offered Saturday, Feb. 20

Around 150 Pike County citizens cast their votes in the first week of early voting in the presidential preference primary. Advance voting is ongoing each weekday starting at 8 a.m. through Friday, Feb. 26 at 5 p.m., with Saturday voting set for 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 20 at the courthouse. There is no advance voting offered on the Monday before the election. All polling precincts will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 1.’Avoid the long lines and wait times by voting early,’ said Pike registrar Sandi Chamblin. In addition to the presidential candidates, all Pike County ballots will include the SPLOST referendum to fund road improvements in Pike County. The one percent sales tax would be a six year continuation of the current SPLOST once it expires and would raise around $5.8 million for road, street and bridge improvements in Pike County and the cities of Concord, Meansville, Molena, Williamson and Zebulon. Candidates on the Republican ballot include Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, Lindsey Graham, Mike Huckabee, John R. Kasich, George Pataki, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Rick Santorum and Donald J. Trump. Candidates on the Democratic ballot include Hillary Clinton, Martin O’Malley, Bernie Sanders and Michael Steinberg.