The polls closed at 7 p.m. sharp Tuesday in Habersham County after what poll workers described as a steady, but not overwhelming day of voting.
About 30 people were waiting in line to vote at Habersham’s largest precinct when the polls opened at 7 a.m. on Nov. 3. Other voters trickled in throughout the day.
Sixty percent of Habersham County’s 28,264 active registered voters cast ballots ahead of the election through early in-person and absentee voting. Another 12.5% – approximately 3,500 voters – cast ballots at the polls on election day.
Republican District 50 State Senate candidate Bo Hatchett got in some last-minute campaigning, waving to voters as they drove to the Habersham North Precinct at the Ruby Fulbright Aquatic Center in Clarkesville. Hatchett was joined by a flag-waving, self-described “proud American” who told Now Habersham there’s a lot riding on this election.
“For those who don’t understand what’s on the line today, I feel sorry for them,” he said. When asked to describe in his words what is on the line, he looked at the flag in his hands and responded, “I’m hanging on to it right here. Red, white, and blue. Not red. Not blue. Red, white, and blue.”
Red states, blue states
There’s been a lot of flag-waving during this campaign and lots of discussion about red states and blue states. Asked how he intends to pull people together if he wins the 50th District State Senate seat Bo Hatchett said, “We’re elected to represent the people of this district and that’s what I’m going to do; I’ll fight every day to represent everybody.”
Hatchett’s Democratic opponent Dee Daley of Rabun County made partisan cooperation part of her campaign, stating on her website, “When both sides work together, good things happen!”
Theirs is one of the few remaining state and local races of interest left on Habersham’s ballot in what has been a relentless election year. It kicked off with qualifying in March and voting was delayed several times due to the pandemic. There have been recounts and runoffs and now, finally, the final day.
As exhausting as it’s been for voters, it’s been even more so for the candidates.
“It’s been a marathon for sure,” Hatchett says.
