With nine days till Election Day, area early voters continue their rapid trek to the polls, particularly in Columbia County.
Following a statewide trend, Republican-leaning Columbia has seen almost 41% of voters – 45,020 of the county’s 110,040 active voters – vote early, either in person, by mail or electronically, according to data from the Georgia Secretary of State.
“I cannot even begin to tell you how exciting it is to see the voters come in and vote,” said Nancy Gay, executive director for Columbia County Board of Elections.
The number is on par with statewide turnout of 38%. As of Saturday, almost 2.8 million Georgia voters had already cast ballots in the presidential election.
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Statewide and in Columbia County, women outvoted men, with 54.2% of those casting early ballots women in the suburban county. Columbia’s total includes 3,335 who have already voted by mail or electronically.
As of Saturday, White voters cast ballots more than three times as often as Black voters in Columbia County, and the most common age bracket for voters was 60-64.
The turnout bodes well for Election Day, Gay said. She’s hoping to see total advance turnout reach 45%-50% in Columbia County, followed by another 30%-35% on Election Day.
“I am super optimistic,” Gay said.
Advance voting continues at three sites from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday:
- Building G3, 610 Ronald Reagan Drive, Evans
- Former Euchee Creek Library, 5907 Euchee Creek Drive, Grovetown
- Columbia County School District Support Complex, 4395 River Watch Pkwy., Evans
Richmond County voting less often
Total turnout in Richmond trails that in Columbia, with 28.9% or 37,495 of the county’s 129,740 active voters casting ballots, according to data from the Secretary of State’s office.
Voters in Richmond, however, have an extra day of early voting with today’s “Souls to the Polls” tradition, in which church congregations vote on Sunday.
There’s an event happening downtown, where the only Sunday voting site is the Linda Beazley Room
According to data from Richmond County Board of Elections, Diamond Lakes Regional Park has been the busiest site for advance in-person voting, with 9,389 voting there as of Friday.
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Coming in second was Warren Road Community Center with 9,031 voting early and third the Beazley Room with 8,268. Augusta has also had 2,914 absentee ballots returned by mail or electronically.
According to state data, Black voters have made up 53% of Richmond County’s advance turnout so far. White voters comprise 33% and women voters make up 59%. The largest age bracket is 65-69.
Advance voting continues at four sites from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday:
- Beazley Room at Augusta Municipal Building, 535 Telfair St., Augusta
- Henry Brigham Community Center, 2463 Golden Camp Road, Augusta
- Robert Howard Community Center at Diamond Lakes Regional Park, 103 Diamond Lakes Way, Hephzibah
- Warren Road Community Center, 300 Warren Road, Augusta
