Tuesday is Election Day, and area voters will decide much more than a president to guide the nation.
Advance voting has ended and many have already cast ballots, including 42% in Richmond County, according to state data.
Elections Director Travis Doss said he expects the number to grow on Election Day to 72-73%.
Columbia County ended the three-week advance voting period with more than 60,000 casting ballots. That’s an early turnout of over 54% of active registered voters.
“To go into this general and special election having voted over 60,000 voters is truly amazing,” said Nancy Gay, elections director for Columbia County.
Gay said having a dedicated poll worker crew and three advance voting sites contributed to the total.
Things to remember
On Election Day, voters must use their assigned polling places, which will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voters must show a valid ID and refrain from displaying any campaign materials at the polls.
There are two changes. One is that Richmond County voters who were using Belle Terrace are back at the Henry Brigham Center.
Columbia County voters assigned to Savannah Rapid Pavilion will vote at Stevens Creek Community Church, 600 Stevens Creek Road. Gay also reminded voters near the fairgrounds to keep traffic delays in mind.
Augusta Transit is offering free bus and van rides on Election Day. For paratransit and Richmond Transit, reservations are required by 5 p.m. Monday. Call 706-821-1819.
View Richmond County polling places here
View Columbia County polling places here
What’s on the ballot?
Below the presidential contest, several area Republican incumbents face Democratic challengers:
- U.S. Rep. Rick Allen, R-Augusta, faces another challenge from Statesboro Democrat Elizabeth “Liz” Johnson for the 12th Congressional District. Cook’s Political Report gives the 12th a “+9” Republican rating in its partisan voter index.
- Sen. Max Burns, R-Sylvania, a retired university professor representing District 23, raised $142,950 in to face a Democratic challenge from Sylvania entrepreneur Shayna Boston, who filed no fundraising reports.
- Rep. Rob Leverett, R-Elberton, an attorney representing District 123, took in $172,036 in a Democratic challenge from small business owner Hope Beard, who raised $4,315.
- Business owner Gary Richardson, R-Evans, has a House District 125 challenge from Grovetown Democrat Kay Turner, an entrepreneur. Richardson raised $166,815 including $51,191 in debt from a special election and the contest with Turner, who raised $2,000.
Open Seats
Both Richmond and Columbia counties have elections for which there is no incumbent. The following have attracted both Republican and Democratic hopefuls:
- House District 131: The Evans-area district has attracted two hopefuls: Republican construction company owner Rob Clifton and Democratic retired veteran Heather Rose White.
- House District 126: Republican retired educator and party official William C. Harris makes another run for the Hephzibah-area seat formerly held by Rep. Gloria Frazier, D-Hephzibah. The Democratic nominee is longtime party official L.C. Myles Jr.
- Columbia County Coroner: The contest for coroner is to replace interim coroner Keith Cox. The contenders are retired Richmond County Deputy Marshal Terry Norman, R-Harlem, and funeral director and disaster program consultant Helen Bratton, D-Martinez.
Richmond County Board of Education
One thing is certain – the Richmond County Board of Education will have at least three new faces next year with four seats open and contested Tuesday.
The year saw four trustees decide not to run again: Helen Minchew of Super District 10, Jimmy Atkins of District 8, Patsy Scott of District 5 and Wayne Frazier of District 4.
Vying to replace them include:
- District 4: Glenn Hills alumna Shontae Boyd has worked in the healthcare industry at Palmetto GBA for 17 years and has a child in Richmond County schools. She’s up against Reginald B. Forrest, a Butler alum who retired from Savannah River Site and founded a teen mentoring program for the seat held by Frazier.
- District 5: The three-way contest for District 5 could send the top two finishers into a Dec. 3 runoff. Vying for the Hephzibah-area seat are Christopher Mulliens, an Army veteran who owns a charity, the Freddie Mae Foundation; former trustee A.K. Hasan, a retired small business owner who served on the board in the 1980s and 2000s and ran for mayor in 2022; and Monique Braswell, a family advocate and former PTA leader who served on the CSRA Economic Opportunity Authority and hosts the “Feast before the Feast.”
- District 8: Two educators are running for the District 8 seat held by Atkins. They are Onnie Poe, who was a teacher in Richmond County schools for 16 years and founded a nonprofit mentoring group; and Mary Jane Abbott, an educator who worked in the Jefferson County school system and as the first principal of the Georgia School for Innovation and the Classics, a charter school in Hephzibah.
- Super District 10: Vying to replace Helen Minchew in Super District 10, which spans regular districts 3, 6, 7 and 8 includes Lee Blitch, a graduate of the University of Georgia who owns Whit Blanchard Insurance Group; and Samantha Valentine, an educator who has taught at area colleges.
1% sales tax referenda on ballots
Voters in Richmond and Columbia counties also each will decide whether to approve new 1% sales taxes and bond issue to fund capital projects.
MORE: What will 1% buy Richmond County schools?
