Early Voting Off to a Slow Start in Stephens County

Early voting for the May 22 General Primary Election is getting off to a slower start than expected in Toccoa-Stephens County.

On Wednesday, County Registrar Bill Cochran said he expected more voters to walk through his doors this week.

“Turnout is a little light. We’ve had about 200 voters over the last several days,” he said. “That works out to about 1,200 for the early voting. So we’ll see how it picks up.”

Of the 16,129 registered voters in Stephens County, Cochran said about 60% typically vote early.

You can cast an early ballot Monday through Friday at the Registrar’s office on Tugalo St. from 8a to 5p Monday through Friday until May 18th.

Cochran said there will also be one Saturday open for early voting on May 12th from 9a to 4p at the Registrars office.

All early voting is at the Stephens County Registrar’s Office, which is located in the Stephens County Courthouse Annex on Tugalo Street in downtown Toccoa.

Voters are casting ballots in both local and State races.

In Stephens County, voters are choosing a State Representative as Republican incumbent Dan Gasaway runs against Republican challenger Chris Erwin.

Also, County Commissioner Dean Scarborough is running for re-election to the Post 5 seat against challenger John Smith.

In addition, there are five candidates vying for the Stephens County Board of Commissioners Post 4 seat.

They include, James Addison, Melvin Barrett, Bryan Dooley, Jim Ledford, and Henry Moore.

Additionally, voters are choosing a new Board of Education board member, selecting either Joel Blackwell or Kay Reed.