This story originally posted Nov. 2 at 5:36 p.m. and was updated at 9:01 p.m.
The final results have been reported for the Grovetown Municipal General election.
Incumbent Deborah Fisher got 30.94 % of the total vote at 315 votes, incumbent Sylvia Martin received 34.48 % with 351 votes and candidate Shelly Kandian received 23.48 % with 239 votes.
It was a weak showing at the polls with only 509 people turning out in support of any candidate. Only 5% of Grovetown’s 9,404 registered voters cast ballots in the election.
Despite the weak numbers, the incumbents will keep their council seats, according to Jarthurlynn Hosley, assistant director of the Columbia County Board of Elections.
ORIGINAL STORY POSTED at 5:36 p.m.
The polls for the Grovetown City Council election opened at 7 a.m.
The incumbent city council members running for their seats are Sylvia Martin and Deborah Fisher. Martin and Fisher worked together to secure a minimum wage increase the minimum wage for city workers.
Martin has also been working with the leisure and recreation staff to to reinstate a senior citizens center, having been appointed by Mayor Gary Jones to a committee purposed toward that goal. She was first elected to city council in 2014.
Fisher has emphasized supporting the Columbia County campus of Augusta Technical College, located in Grovetown; promoting local entrepreneurship and creating diverse and affordable housing opportunities to complement the city’s growth. Fisher was first elected to city council in 2017.
Shelly Kandian, who was on Grovetown’s planning commission for nearly three years, is also running for a seat on the council.
“Hoping and praying the citizens of Grovetown make a good choice for the city,” said Kandian, who would be serving her first term if elected.
As of Tuesday eight absentee ballot votes were received and 108 advance in-person votes were accepted.
No election data has been reported as of 4 p.m. The polls will close at 7 p.m. and absentee and early voting results are expected at about 7:05 p.m. according to the Jarthurlynn Hosley, assistant director of the Columbia County Board of Elections.
“I don’t expect the first precinct from the field to get in here until 7:30 p.m. or 7:45 p.m.,” said Hosley.
The results are to be tabulated at 205 Range Rd. in Appling. The dashboard for election results is viewable publicly at https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/d23884c359084d729fef06eaa70ea33a/
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering Columbia County with The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
