Strong turnout; early voting ongoing

Pike County voters turned out for in-person early voting with 389 people casting their ballots in the first day alone. A total of 1,835 voters cast ballots in person in the first week of early voting. Citizens can continue to vote early Dec. 21 through 23 and Dec. 28 through 31 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Pike County board of elections office. ’Please exercise your right to vote. All elections are important,’ said Pike County election supervisor Lynn Vickers who noted that there have been a steady number of voters but fewer than in the presidential election. Georgia voters will determine which party controls the U.S. Senate in the Jan. 5 runoff election. Republican Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler face Democrat challengers Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock. Polling places – including two new ones in Zebulon and Concord – will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 5. Zebulon voters will cast their ballots at the Pike Auditorium on Highway 19 south and Concord voters will cast their ballots at the new fire station in Concord. A special election was announced for Feb. 9 recently by the Georgia Supreme Court to determine the District Attorney for Pike, Spalding, Fayette and Upson counties. Former District Attorney Ben Coker was appointed to the Griffin Judicial Circuit and his assistant DA Marie Broder was appointed to fill the unexpired term. Qualifying for the special election will be held in the Elections Division of the Office of Secretary of State, 2 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive SE, West Tower Suite 802, Atlanta, Georgia 30334. Qualifying will be Wednesday, Dec. 16 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 17 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday, Dec. 18 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. with a qualifying fee of $3,674.20.Pike residents may request absentee ballots up until Dec. 31. The completed absentee ballots can be dropped into the mail at least one week prior to the election, they can be handed to a Board of Elections employee and they can be placed in the Absentee Ballot Return Box that is outside the Board of Elections Office on Jackson Street in Zebulon. Any absentee ballots dropped in the box on election night must be received by 7 p.m. For more information, call the local Board of Elections at 770-567-2003.