Register to vote before Oct. 7

For new Pike County residents or citizens who have moved to a new address here, there is still time to get registered to cast votes in this year’s local elections.Georgians have until Oct. 7 to register to vote to take part in the Nov. 5 general election.’Citizens can come by the courthouse to register. They’ll need to bring their driver’s license with a current address on it or another picture ID with their current address,’ said registrar Sandi Chamblin. ‘It’s our duty and responsibility to vote even on what some may consider to be minor city elections. It’s an honor to vote.’ Four candidates are vying for mayoral positions, including incumbent Jim Roberts and challenger Doug Neath in Concord and incumbent Brian Callaway and challenger Jay Garner in Molena. Garner had to give up his council seat to run for mayor. Many city candidates will run unopposed but Zebulon council member William Thomas will face off against challenger Joanne Tucker for the District 1, Post 1 seat. Incumbent Rick O’Barr will run against challenger Joseph Walter for the District 2, Post 2 seat on Zebulon city council. The general election will be held Tuesday, Nov. 5 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at each city’s main polling station. Chamblin said turnout for city elections is generally low but she hopes more people will cast their votes this November. ’We generally have less than 10% of our citizens vote in these general elections and we’ve had as few as 30 people vote in a Molena election,’ she said. ‘As big as Zebulon is comparatively, its turnout is also very low. If citizens go to vote in municipal elections and they aren’t registered, they may be upset. We want to remind everyone about the deadline for registering for these elections and federal, state and local elections.’