Early voting heavy
The first week of early voting has been a busy one in Catoosa County, as officials say the number of people casting early ballots is reminiscent of the last presidential election.
Early voting opened Monday, Oct. 15, and will continue for two more weeks leading up to the Nov. 6 general election.
As of 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 19, nearly 3,500 residents had been to the polls.
Catoosa County Elections Director Tonya Moore says the two precincts accepting early ballots have been extremely busy.
“The numbers are great so far,” Moore said. “As of the end of day four (Thursday), we had a total of 3,194 ballots from the two precincts. It’s been very busy.”
Moore said that as of 11:15 a.m. an additional 269 residents had voted at the Ringgold and Westside precincts Friday morning, Oct. 19.
Friday morning’s ballots bring the total to 3,663, which is 8.6 percent of the county’s 40,225 active voters.
After the first day of early voting on Monday (Oct. 15), the vote tally stood at 812, followed by 740 votes Tuesday (Oct. 16), 848 Wednesday (Oct. 17), and 794 on Thursday (Oct. 18).
Moore said the high volume of voters is similar to how early voting usually goes when there’s a presidential race.
“We did 17,161 in person during early voting for the last presidential,” Moore said. “We’re trending for 16,800 in our early voting this time. If we have a busy third week like we normally do, we might pass the early voting turnout numbers from our last presidential election.”
The three-week window for early voting will close Friday, Nov. 2.
Until then, Catoosa County residents can vote either at Ringgold’s Freedom Center on Evitt Street next to Catoosa County Fire and Rescue, or at the Westside Precinct on Lakeview Drive next to Westside Elementary School.
Polls are open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with lunch closures from noon to 1 p.m.
Also, early voting will be available Saturday, Oct. 27, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Thursday, Nov. 1, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
On Election Day, Nov. 6, polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Although residents can vote at Ringgold or Westside during early voting, they’ll need to go to their designated precinct on Election Day.
There are no local contested races to be decided on the ballot, but voters still have plenty to consider this election season as they vote for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, and other offices.
What to bring to the polls
Voters are required to present an acceptable ID at the poll.
This may be a valid state or federal government issued photo ID, including a free ID Card issued by your county registrar’s office or the Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS); a Georgia driver’s license, even if expired; a valid employee photo ID from any branch, department, agency, or entity of the U.S. Government, Georgia, or any county, municipality, board, authority or other entity of this state; a valid United States passport ID; a valid U.S. military photo ID; or a valid tribal photo ID.
“A lot of people think they need to bring their precinct card to vote, they don’t … they just need their government issued ID,” Moore said.