Early voting runs through Friday
♦ Only Rome residents can weigh in on commission races and brunch bill.
A total of 240 Rome voters cast early ballots over the weekend and Robert Brady, Floyd County’s chief elections clerk, was elated.
“I am pleasantly embarrassed ... I was afraid a very small number of people would decide the leadership of the city,” Brady said Sunday.
Six of the nine City Commission seats will be decided in the Nov. 5 election, along with the “brunch bill” question of if restaurants can serve alcohol as early as 11 a.m. on Sundays.
Brady and city commissioners scrambled to arrange for a Saturday and Sunday voting location after a miscommunication led to polls being open only during the week. Cile Bishop was one of the 113 people who went to the Rome Civic Center after church.
“I don’t usually vote early, but it was convenient to vote today,” Bishop said.
Bill Delaino, who turns 89 Monday, came with his daughter Elaine Delaino Turner. She said it’s easier for them to pop in early than to brave the lines on Election Day.
“He told me the polls are open today and we should get it done now,” Turner said, adding that, “he taught me to vote every time.”
Early voting continues this week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at two universal locations: the Floyd County Administration Building, 12 E. Fourth Ave., and the Floyd County Health Department, 16 E. 12th St.
Brady said advance voting ends Friday but all six city precincts will be open on Election Day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Voters will have to go to their assigned location then – Mount Alto North, Mount
Alto South, Town Rome, North Rome, East Rome
or South Rome. Check the Georgia My Voter Page website for your site and status or call the Elections Office at 706-291-5167.
Cathy Hart came out to vote Sunday but left disappointed. The election is open only to voters within the city limits and she lives in the unincorporated area.
“I live in Celanese and get city water so I thought I was eligible,” Hart said with a good-natured grin before turning to Brady. “Thank you, anyway, for working to do weekend voting. It’s
a wonderful way to take down some barriers.”
Voters can select up to three commission candidates in each of two wards. The top three vote-getters in each ward will take the seats in January.
The five candidates running in Ward 1 are incumbents Sundai Stevenson, Milton Slack and Bill Irmscher and challengers Mark Cochran and Jim Bojo. There are four candidates in Ward 3: Bonny Askew, J.J. Walker Seifert and incumbents Bill Collins and
Craig Mcdaniel. Commissioner Evie Mcniece is not running for re-election.
Early voting started Oct. 14 and Brady said there have been days when turnout was as low as 24 people. “The surge,” he said, has started.
“In the first hour (Sunday) we had 54 voters, which has exceeded our best day at the health department,” Brady said. “We need to get people to do this ... and I intend to make sure communication is improved for the next time.”