Voter turnout in Georgia incredibly low for local elections
Georgia saw a surge in voting Thursday with 75,000 ballots cast, compared to 51,567 on Wednesday. Many counties had extended hours for advanced voting, staying open until 7 p.m. The total number of votes so far totals 495.409. To see updated information click here. This election will decide local races, local referendums, and two Public Service Commission board seats.
That Georgia total may sound like a lot, but advanced voter turnout in most counties for the Nov. 4 election ranges from 3 percent to 6 percent of total registered voters, according to statistics from the Georgia Secretary of State’s office. For the number of active voters in Georgia, click here. Friday is the last day to vote early with most election offices shutting down at 5 p.m.
Those who miss the advanced voting option can vote on Election Day, Nov. 4 from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. Election officials stress that you must go to your normal voting precinct to cast your ballot rather than the board of elections office. Bring a state-issued photo ID.
Northwest Georgia is running the same statistically in turnout as the rest of Georgia with Polk County leading the turnout with 11.2 percent in advanced voting. Statistics show 2,745 voters out of 24,314 voters have cast ballots.
Bartow and Cobb Counties are running close in turnout with Bartow seeing 6.2 percent, or 4,622 of its 74,284 voters, turning out for advanced voting. For daily numbers on Bartow County, click here. Cobb County shows 31,243 of its registered 510,490 voters voting early, amounting to 6.1 percent.
Pickens County has 4.3 percent turnout so far with 1,022 of 23,664 registered voters casting ballots and Chattooga County has 2.7 percent turnout in advanced voting with 384 of 14.096 voters turning out. Walker County has a 2.1 percent turnout with 1,031 voters of 49,000 registered voters voting early.
Other Northwest Georgia Counties fall between those numbers. All will have advanced voting through Oct. 31 at the following times and locations.
Bartow County
8 a.m. – 6 p.m.
- Bartow County Elections Office 1300 Joe Frank Harris Pkwy, Cartersville 30120
- Cartersville Civic Center 435 W Main St, Cartersville 30120
- Manning Mill Gym 163 Manning Mill Rd, Adairsville 3010
Paulding County
9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- Watson Government Location 240 Constitution Blvd. Dallas
- Camp Hornet at Seaboard St. 76 Seaboard St. Hiram
Polk County
9 am. – 5 p.m.
- Cedartown Goodyear Civic Center 108 Prior St Cedartown
- Rockmart Rockmart Community Center 604 Goodyear Avenue Rockmart, Georgia 30153
Gordon County
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Gordon County Board of Elections and Voter Registration Office 100 South Wall Street (1st Floor) Calhoun
Floyd County
8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- Floyd County Election Office 18 E. 12th Street, Rome.
Murray County
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Murray County Recreation Center 651 Hyden Tyler Road
Catoosa County
8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- Ringold Freedom Center 5238 Evitt St. Ringold
- Westside Precinct 3319 Lakeview Dr. Rossville
Chattooga County
8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- Chattooga County registrar’s Office 10017 Commerce St. Summerville.
Gilmer County
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Gilmer County Courthouse 1 Broad Street, Suite 107 Ellijay
Walker County
8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Walker County Courthouse in LaFayette
- The Chickamauga Civic Center
- The Rossville Municipal Civic Center
Cherokee County
8:30 a.m. – 7 p.m.
- Cherokee County Elections & Voter Registration Office 193 Lamar Haley Parkway, Canton
- South Cherokee Annex/Recreation Center (VOTING AND DROP BOX LOCATION) 7545 Main Street, Woodstock
- Ball Ground Public Library 435 Old Canton Road, Ball Ground
Haralson County
8:30 a.m – 5 p.m.
- Haralson County Courthouse 4485 GA Highway 120 Buchanan
Whitfield County
8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- Whitfield County Board of Elections Office, 205 N. Selvidge St., Suite K, Dalton
Fannin County
9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- Fannin County Voter Registration and Elections, 400 West Main St. Suite 301, Blue Ridge
Cobb County
7 a.m. – 7 p.m.
- Roberts School and Community Education Center 4681 School St. Acworth
- Collar Park Community Center 2625 Joe Jerkins Blvd. Austell
- Ben Robertson Community Center 2753 Watts Dr. Kennesaw
- South Cobb Community Center 620 Lions Club Dr. Mableton
- Cobb County Elections Office 995 Roswell St. NE Marietta
- Ron Anderson Recreation Center 3820 Macedonia Rd. Powder Springs
- East Cobb Government Service Center 4400 Lower Roswell Road Marietta
- Taylor-Brawner House 3182 Atlanta Road SE, Smyrna
Melody Dareing is a freelance writer for publications in the U.S, Canada, the UK and Germany. She is a former news director of Adelphia Channel 4 and WBHF Radio. She is on Facebook, X, YouTube, content on Substack, and has a podcast on Rumble.