Beaufort County preparing for November ballot

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - A packed Beaufort County ballot will include races for Governor, a Senate and Congressional seat, county and local council openings, along with multiple referendums. Because of that, the voter registration office here is expecting a big turnout come November.

“We do prepare for at least about a 60% turnout.”

In years with less on the ballot I’m told that number is around 20% instead. Before every election, the Beaufort County office holds a public test with this year’s scheduled for Friday.

“This public test is really just to show our preparation for our tabulator DS200 scanners and our ballot marking devices, our express votes,” IT Elections Systems Manager Vernon Kemp said.

That may sound technical and complex, but essentially they’ll just show you how these machines work. He says it’s got a clear purpose.

“To give our community and all of our voters the opportunity to come see the process and really just to be transparent about how we’re going to conduct our election.”

The public test will start at 10 a.m. on Oct. 7, in Beaufort.

Early voting will run from Oct. 24 through Nov. 5, with Election Day being Nov. 8.

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