If the number of people voting early in next Tuesday’s general election is any indication, voter turnout will be heavy.
As of about 1:30 on Monday, some 5,488 people had cast ballots during two weeks of early voting at the Jackson County Administrative Building in Jefferson. Early voting began Monday and will continue through Friday in two other locations — the Commerce Recreation Department office on Carson Street and the Braselton Municipal Building.
Early voting will continue through Friday at 5 p.m., and all Jackson County precincts will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday for the 2012 General Election.
Nationwide, all eyes are on the U.S. presidential election, where incumbent Barack Obama and challenger Mitt Romney appear to be in a statistical dead heat.
But locally, there is little on the ballot in the way of contested races. However, Jackson County’s voters will choose between Republican Doug Collins and Democrat Jody Cooley for the new 9th Congressional District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Two contested Public Service Commission seats are also on the ballot.
Also of interest is the proposed Amendment 1 to the Georgia Constitution that would re-establish a state commission empowered to authorize the creation of public charter schools.
Amendment 1 asks “Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended to allow state or local approval of public charter schools upon the request of local communities?” but the amendment would allow the appointed state charter schools commission to approve new charter schools even when opposed by the local boards of education.
Proponents say the measure would give parents’ more choices among schools, while opponents say passage of the amendment would dilute funding for public schools, create a parallel and largely redundant system of schools that would operate with reduced accountability to the public.
All three local boards of education — and most school boards in Georgia — oppose the amendment.
Amendment 2 would allow state agencies to enter multi-year leases on buildings as a means of saving money.
The ballot will also contain the following uncontested races: State representative, District 31, Tommy Benton, incumbent; State Senate, 50th District, John K. Wilkinson, incumbent (or 47th District, Frank Ginn, incumbent); district attorney, Brad Smith, incumbent; Clerk of Superior court, Cammie Wilkes Thomas, incumbent; sheriff, Janis Mangum; tax commissioner, Don Elrod, incumbent; surveyor, Joseph Kyle Wood; coroner, Keith Whitfield, incumbent; state court solicitor, Don Moore, incumbent; board of commissioners’ chairman, Tom Crow; county commissioner District 2, Chas Hardy, incumbent (or Jim Hix, incumbent, District 1); and Oconee River Soil and Water Conservation District supervisor, William Dewey Johnson, incumbent. All are Republicans.
There are approximately 35,000 registered voters in Jackson County.
