Ga. Secretary of State presents Lowndes Co. Board of Elections with EAGLE award

• The Lowndes County Board of Elections has been awarded the Georgia Election Administration Golden Leader in Excellence.
• This coincides with the May primary turnout rate in the county slowly rising.
• Watch the video to hear from election officials and neighbors about the importance of your vote counting.

BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT

Advance voting in Lowndes County is picking up, and the Lowndes BOE is making sure the democratic process is running smoothly.

“Everyone’s vote should count.”

I’m Malia Thomas, your neighborhood reporter in Valdosta.

I’m tracking the latest numbers for advance voting in the county, and how neighbors feel about their vote.

Tiffany Linkswiler works to help elections run smoothly in Lowndes County.

As our county's assistant elections supervisor, she's very excited about her team winning the Secretary of State's EAGLE just as early voting is starting.

"We're entrusted by the public to do our jobs. And to do it accurately and fairly. And impartially. It's an honor to be able to do that."

Secretary Brad Raffensperger agreed.

He visited Valdosta Wednesday to give the Lowndes County Board of Elections' team the Georgia Election Administration Golden Leader in Excellence (EAGLE) Award.

The EAGLE recognizes county election offices that ensure safe, secure, accessible, and accurate elections provided transparently to Georgia's voters, which Lowndes County voters will get plenty of during early voting for the May 21 primaries.

I initially reported Monday that turnout was slow, with .2% or 184 out of 85,453 registered voters casting their ballots. The end of the day total came to 300, and as of Wednesday, 680 neighbors casted their votes, bumping it up to .8%.

"I want my voice to be heard as part of the votes and I won't change to be made. So what a perfect way to do it is just come and vote."

Devonde Miller has lived in Lowndes County her whole life.

She tells me she participates in almost every election.

She encourages her fellow Valdostans to make their vote count too,

"I think a lot of people just think that election is 'Ohh they're going to choose who they want to choose'. But I think that's just a myth that's been that needs to be broken and it's all about your vote being included in the overall votes."

There will still be a chance to vote early until May 17th, and turnout is expected to increase during the week of the 13th.

Remember, this race determines who will be the primary candidates. The actual vote for the open seats will be Tuesday, November 5th. In Valdosta, I’m Malia Thomas, reporting for ABC27.