Early voting continues
Gordon County’s election chair says early turnout has been “really good” during the first week.
DBell@CalhounTimes.com
Early voting in Georgia for the June 9 General Primary and Presidential Primary elections continues for one more week, until Friday, June 5.
The election had originally been re-scheduled for May 19, but the date was pushed back due to the coronavirus pandemic, explained Shea Hicks, chairperson of the Gordon County Board of Elections and Voter Registration Office.
Hicks said 366 Gordon County residents had cast their ballots in person by closing time Thursday. She said her office issued 6,586 absentee ballots.
You can find candidate profiles for the local candidates at www. CalhounTimes.com and read in their own words why they want your vote.
“We have had a really good turnout for early voting for the past four days,” said Hicks. “We would like to remind voters to review a sample ballot before they come in to vote.”
Voters can review a ballot at www. mvp.sos.ga.gov.
Precautions are in place at the local elections office. The floor is marked with bright orange tape indicating where people should stand to practice social distancing. Additionally, plastic screens are hung between election clerks and voters, who are then assigned to alternating booths in order to avoid contact with other voters.
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Ova Lee Gravitt French, age 91 of Calhoun, went to her heavenly home on May 18, 2020.
Ova Lee was born on April 20, 1929 in Calhoun, GA, daughter of the late Aileen Gravitt. In addition to her mother, Ova Lee was also preceded in death by: a daughter, Lisa Ann French; brother, Milford Gravitt; sister-in-law, Charlcie Burns; brothers-in-law, A.W. French, Ray French, George Pass, and Hollis Burns; and son-in-law, Ted Thompson.
After Ova Lee attended Bob Jones College, she taught school at Red Bud Elementary and continued taking courses at West Georgia College. She worked as an educator for 5 years, then she decided to be a stay-athome mother and housewife. She was a member of Mount Pleasant United Methodist Church. She had two deep devotions and loves, her faith and her family. Ova Lee was a beloved wife and mother.
Ova Lee is survived by: her husband James Monroe “Jimmy” French of CalKRXQ ¿YH VRQV 3KLO )UHQFK Kent French, Craig French and his wife Laura, Stuart French and his wife Janet, and Brad French and his wife Nancy; three daughters, Marie Reeves and her husband Steve, Carrie Thompson, and Cheryl Hughes and her husband Niven; twelve grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and several other relatives also survive.
The family of Ova Lee would like to give special thanks to Tapestry Hospice and Calhoun Health Care Center for their loving care for our dear mother.
Funeral Services will be conducted on Thursday, May 21st at 3 PM from the Chapel of Thomas Funeral Home with Reverend Scott Pickering, Reverend Alan Miller, and Reverend Jimmy Burns RI¿FLDWLQJ 0LFKDHO +XQW ZLOO have charge of music. Interment will follow in Bethesda Baptist Church Cemetery with grandsons serving as pallbearers.
The family will receive friends on Thursday from 1 PM until the funeral hour at 3 PM at Thomas Funeral Home.
,Q DGGLWLRQ WR ÀRZHUV donations may be made to the Mount Pleasant United Methodist Church Cemetery fund at 4301 Red Bud Road, NE, Calhoun, GA 30701.
You may leave the family online condolences at www. thomasfuneralhomecalhoun. com
Thomas Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements for Ova Lee Gravitt French.
To cast an early ballot, voters should go to the Gordon County Board of Elections and Voter Registration Office, which is now located in the Gordon County Annex Building. Office hours are Monday-Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. There will be one day of Saturday voting on May 30, in the elections office, from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.
Hicks said absentee ballots are still being accepted as well. Those ballots must be received by the local elections office no later than 7 p.m. on Election Day, June 9. Officials suggest allowing five days for ballots that are to be mailed, but ballot may also be dropped off at the local office in a drop box left of the front doors.
Additionally, state law allows family members, individuals in the same household, and caretakers for those with disabilities to drop off ballots for voters.
Those who have requested and received an absentee ballot are encouraged to vote with that ballot. There are procedures to cancel such a ballot, but those procedures are time consuming.
Those who requested but have not received an absentee can cancel their request in writing at the local office. Additionally, a blank, unvoted absentee ballot can be turned in to the poll manager for those who have received an absentee ballot but would rather vote in person.
Only four of the 13 local races on the ballot are contested. Additionally, all four of the races feature only Republican candidates, meaning the primary winner will