Georgia’s long-delayed Primary Election Day is finally here. Voters are casting ballots today in a host of local, state, and congressional primaries. They’re also voting in a presidential preference primary that now is mostly symbolic since Democrats and Republicans already have chosen their nominees.
As of Monday, 1.2 million ballots had been cast statewide. Georgia set a record for in-person early voting for a primary election, and a record for voting by mail.
In Habersham, 30% of the county’s 27,485 active registered voters cast ballots ahead of today’s primary. Those 8,388 votes exceed the total number of votes cast in the primary four years ago.
In 2016, overall voter turnout in Habersham County was 40% of the then 18,621 active registered voters. Since then, Habersham’s voter rolls have swelled by nearly nine-thousand due to automatic voter registration through the Department of Driver Services.
What to expect
If you are among the 250,000-400,000 Georgians expected to show up at the polls today, be prepared for possible lines and longer than usual wait times.
“Given the constraints of COVID-19, there will be realities we will have to be facing,” Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger told reporters on Monday. “There will be lines… this is a new system, there will be a learning curve for both election workers and for voters. All this will take time.”
Polling precincts have been equipped with hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes, and isopropyl alcohol wipes for ballot-marking devices and other voting equipment.
Another precaution in place is social distancing. Raffensperger gave an example recently of a 60-foot line. That line would include 10 voters now, when ordinarily it would be 20-30 voters.
Even so, he said Monday that the voting behavior for this election has changed.
“Typically, historically, 50% of all voters show up on election day,” he said. “We really have shifted that dynamic because we’ve had such a robust absentee ballot program.”
Habersham County Election Supervisor Laurel Ellison says she’s unsure what to expect as far as turnout on Tuesday since “we have never had these types of special circumstances due to COVID-19.”
Ellison reminds voters that they must vote at their assigned precinct. Any voter who is unsure may go online to My Voter Page to locate their precinct. Absentee voters may also use this website to check the status of their ballot. “If they have already mailed the ballot back and we have received it, their vote has been cast,” Ellison says.
Below is a list of Habersham County’s voting precincts. Polls are open until 7 p.m. Now Habersham will bring you the election results as they’re reported throughout the evening.
Habersham North Precinct
(City of Clarkesville Precinct)
Ruby Fulbright Aquatic Center
120 Paul Franklin Road, Toccoa Hwy
Clarkesville, Ga 30523
706-839-0234
Habersham South Precinct
(City of Cornelia Precinct)
First Baptist Church of Cornelia
325 Oak Street (banquet hall/gym)
Cornelia, Ga. 30523
706-778-4412
Demorest Precinct
(City of Demorest Precinct)
Demorest Fire Dept. (meeting room)
125 Ivy Street
Demorest, Ga 30535
706-754-7563
Town of Mount Airy
(CITY VOTERS ONLY)
City Hall, Old Schoolhouse
1231 Dicks Hill Parkway
Mount Airy, Ga 30563
706-778-6990
City of Baldwin Precinct
(CITY VOTERS ONLY)
City Hall, (Old Habersham Bank)
186 Highway 441 By-Pass
Baldwin, Ga 30511
706-776-5256
Mud Creek Precinct
(Town of Alto Precinct)
B. C. Grant Baptist Church
1405 B. C. Grant Rd (fellowship hall)
Alto, Ga 30510
706-778-5703
Amy’s Creek Precinct
Amy’s Creek Fire Department
6357 State Hwy. 17
Clarkesville, Ga. 30523
706-754-5913
