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Early voting bodes little interest in primary
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Voters who weren’t able to take advantage of early voting in Bryan County will be heading to their precincts for Tuesday’s primary election when polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
But if early voting in Bryan County is any indication of what Election Day might be like, voters may not find any wait times when they arrive at their local precincts.
Slightly fewer than 630 of the county’s nearly 20,000 registered voters participated in early voting, which began June 7 and ended Friday afternoon.
But Bryan County elections superintendent Sam Davis said he still expects the final turnout for the county to be between 30 and 40 percent, which could make for a relatively busy Election Day.
Davis noted that voters in Precinct 8 should be aware that their voting place has been relocated from St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church to the new County Administrative Complex just south of Richmond Hill.
All other precincts will be in their usual locations, he said (see list below).
Anyone voting Tuesday will have to choose either a Republican or Democratic ballot on which to vote. And if there is a runoff election, Davis said voters will have to vote for the same party as they did in the primary.
“When voting in a primary, you have to choose if you are voting as a Republican or if you are voting as a Democrat,” he said. “In November you don’t have to declare, but in the primary you do.”
Voters can find a sample of what their ballot will look like by visiting www.sos.ga.us/mvp.
“They can go to the Secretary of State website and put in their name and date of birth, and it will show them where to vote and give them a sample of their ballot.”
The primary includes races for the Republican nomination for several seats on the Bryan County Board of Education and one on the County Board of Education, as well as Republican and Democratic nominations for a number of state-level seats, including governor and lieutenant governor.
In addition to local- and state-level nominations, Bryan County voters also have the chance to decide if the sale of alcohol will be permitted on Sundays in establishments that derive at least 50 percent of their annual gross sales from the sale of prepared food or room rentals for overnight lodging.
County commissioners voted in May to have the alcohol sales referendum added to the July 20 ballot.
Voters only need picture identification – like a driver’s license – to cast a ballot. Davis said if a voter has moved from one precint to another, that voter would have to vote at his or her previous voting place.
“When they come to vote and their address is different, we will give them a form to fill out so we can update their voter registration,” Davis said.
Davis also noted that the county has problems with the “vote here” signs that get posted on the roadside in front of voting places at election time. He said it doesn’t understand why someone would take them, adding that it’s probably not as harmless as some might think.
“That is a real serious legal problem if people get caught doing that,” Davis said.

Precincts
The following is a list of the county’s nine precincts and their locations. Voters who are unsure of where they should cast their ballot can call the Voter Registration Office in Pembroke at (912) 653-3859 or visit www.sos.ga.us/mvp:
- 1 Pembroke West: American Legion at 1040 Hwy. 280 in Pembroke.
- 2 Pembroke East: Pembroke City Hall at 160 N Main St., Pembroke.
- 3 Ellabell: Hendrix Park Gym, 4060 Wilma Edwards Road, Ellabell.
- 4 Blitchton Fire Station: Blitchton Fire Station, 4747 Hwy. 80, Ellabell.
- 5 Ways Station: First Baptist Church, 9150Ford Ave., Richmond Hill.
- 6 Daniel Siding: Daniel Siding Loop Road Fire Station, 95 Daniel Siding Loop Road, Richmond Hill.
- 7 Richmond Hill Recreation Complex: Richmond Hill Recreation Complex, 508 Timber Trail, Richmond Hill.
- 8 Hwy. 144 East: Bryan County Administrative Complex, 66 Captain Matthew Freeman Drive, Richmond Hill.
- 9 Hwy. 144: Corinth Baptist Church, 69536 Hwy. 144, Richmond Hill.

Local races
Local Republican elections in Tuesday’s primary will consist of the following: school board races between Paine Bacon and Mindy Boyette for the District 1 seat, which is being vacated by Mary Warnell; and county board races between Wade Price and Ted Akins for the District 2 post held by Blondean Newman, who is stepping down, incumbent Rick Gardner and James Henderson for District 5, and Butch Broome and Chris Morse for District 4, currently held by Toby Roberts, who is stepping down after 20 years on the county commission.
Barring any last-minute write-in candidates in the fall, those races will be decided Tuesday because no Democrats qualified to run for any position in the county. However, the Republican nominee for District 4 – either Broome or Morse – will face Carter Infinger in November. Infinger will be on the November ballot as an independent candidate thanks to a petition of signatures from more than 5 percent of District 4’s registered voters.
Other local candidates facing no opposition are school board candidates:incumbent chairman Eddie Warren; District 4 incumbent Joe Pecenka; and David Schwartz for the District 5 seat being vacated by Judy Crosby, who is retiring.
Also, a number of state races also are on tap, including governor, lieutenant governor, state school superintendent and more
Officials urge voters to check out the secretary of state’s new voter’s website at www.sos.ga.us/mvp. On that page, voters can find sample ballots, precinct information and more.
For more information, call Bryan County Voter Registrar Office at (912) 653-3859.

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