Advance voting for runoff elections begins Monday

UNDATED - Advance voting for runoff elections in Georgia begins Monday, and while there are no local races to be voted on in Hall County that is not true in several adjacent counties.

Some elections officials, in counties where there are hotly contested local races on the August 10th ballots, feel that with the start of the new school year, parents may be taking more advantage of the early voting period this time.

"It's going to be very convenient this week because school starts the following week (in the Macon area) and parents are going to be busier and busier," said Macon-Bibb County Elections Supervisor Elaine Carr.

Voters can cast advance ballots at county voter registration/elections offices. Unlike absentee voting, voters do not need to provide a reason for early voting.

Kara Sinkule, a spokeswoman for the Georgia Secretary of State Cathy Cox, said Georgia traditionally has a low voter turnout for runoff elections _ typically between 9 percent and 17 percent for the past eight years.

"If we get a turnout in the teens then that's going to be a good turnout," she said. "Anytime there is a runoff you're going to lose a substantial number of voters, and that's why you'll see candidates working harder because it's a greater challenge to get people in _ kids are going back to school or parents are taking last-minute vacations."

While no local races will be on the Hall County ballots, that's not true in Forsyth, Barrow, Dawson, Habersham, Gwinnett, Lumpkin and Banks. In addition, some northeast Georgia counties will be voting on a Repubican primary runoff for State Senate.

In Hall County, two races will be voted on - both of them statewide contests. There'll be a Democratic runoff for U.S. Senate between Denis Majette and Cliff Oxford. Only people who voted in the Democratic Primary July 20 and those who did not vote that day are eligible for this contest. A Non-Partisan runoff for Georgia Court of Appeals between Debra Bernes and Mike Sheffield is also being voted on in Hall County, although the third-place finisher, who came just shy of making the runoff, Howard Means, is challenging the outcome of the July 20 vote. Any registered voter can vote in this race, whether they voted July 20 or not and regardless of which ballot they chose that day.

Advance voting will continue through Friday.