Early Voting Continues In Floyd County Through May 17

On average, 185 people have voted each day since early voting opened in a primary that will decide the Floyd County Sheriff and Floyd County Clerk of Court races.

According to the Floyd County Elections Office, 924 ballots had been cast by early Friday in the first week of three weeks of early voting before the May 21 primary.

If that average trend continues it could mean an even lower turnout than the March primary. Just 15.1% of the county’s active registered voters turned out for the March 12 Presidential Preference Primary. In that case, the two parties’ nominees for president were essentially unchallenged.

The Georgia secretary of state’s office had 59,857 active and 6,827 inactive voters listed as of Friday. In general, registered voters are declared inactive if they haven’t cast a ballot in five years. However, that doesn’t affect their ability to vote and, once they do, their classification is updated to “active.”

Of the registered active and inactive voters: 49,181 are listed as White, 8,323 are listed as Black, 5,491 are listed as unknown, 2,573 are listed as Hispanic, 718 are listed as Asian and 398 are listed as American Indian. The largest group of registered voters in Floyd County are between the ages of 18-24 at 7,126.

Three universal precincts are open in Floyd County for three weeks of early voting in the May 21 elections. In-person advance voting continues Monday through Friday through May 17 from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at:

♦ The Floyd County Election Center, 18 E. 12th St. in Rome;

♦ The Thornton Recreation Center, 102 North Floyd Park Road in Armuchee; and

♦ The Anthony Recreation Center, 2901 Garden Lakes Blvd. in Garden Lakes.

The election center also will be open for weekend voting today and May 11, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sunday, May 12, from 1 to 5 p.m.

Locally, two positions will essentially be filled in the Republican primary. The incumbent sheriff, Dave Roberson, is being challenged by veteran law enforcement officer Robbie Whitfield, and the incumbent clerk, Barbara Penson, is up against Mary Hardin Thornton of the Rome Finance Department. There are no Democrats running so the winners will appear alone on the November general election ballot.

Local voters who ask for the Democratic ballot will decide who will face Republican incumbent Marjorie Taylor Greene for the 14th Congressional District seat. Four candidates are running for the nomination: Clarence Blalock, Shawn Harris, Deric Houston and Joseph Leigh.

Each of the parties also have a number of non-binding questions on the ballot.

Statewide, there are two contested nonpartisan judgeships that will appear on every ballot. Athens-Clarke attorney John Barrow is challenging incumbent Andrew Pinson for a Georgia Supreme Court seat. An open State Court of Appeals seat will go to either Fulton County attorney Jeff Davis or Tabitha Ponder, a Cobb County judge.