Register by Feb. 1 for presidential primary

Those who wish to vote in the March 1, 2016, presidential preference primary must be registered by Feb. 1, according to Pike County registrar Sandi Chamblin. All ballots will also 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. Those who would like to register can visit the registrar’s office at the courthouse or go to sos.ga.gov and click the Check Voter Registration (MVP) link. Early advanced voting will be held at the Pike County courthouse from Monday, Feb. 8 to Friday, Feb. 26 during regular office hours. Early advanced voting will also be offered Saturday, Feb. 20 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. 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 Chamblin. ‘If you have a family member in the military, deployed overseas or away at school but registered in Pike County, they are eligible to vote. We just need an absentee ballot application filled out by a family member so a ballot can be mailed to them.’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.For more information or to request an absentee ballot, call 770-567-2003.