Polk elections officials brace for Senate runoffs
With media attention and the balance of power in the U.S. Senate on the table in Georgia’s Jan. 5 runoff elections, Polk County elections officials are preparing for a new wave of ballots to be cast.
Early voting in the two elections began Monday, with Polk County voters able to go to the Polk County annex building at 144 West Ave. in Cedartown from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday through Dec. 31 except for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Early voting will also be available at the Nathan Dean Community Center at 604 Goodyear St. in Rockmart from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Dec. 28-31 only.
Republican incumbent Sen. David Perdue is facing Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff, while Sen. Kelly Loeffler is going up against Democrat Rev. Ralphael Warnock.
Polk County had a record voter turnout for the Nov. 3 general election, as more than 72% of Polk County’s 24,189 registered active voters cast ballots. More than 79% of those were from advance in-person voting and absentee ballots.
Polk Elections Coordinator Brande Coggins told the board of elections last week the total number of registered voters in the county grew by around 300 prior to the Dec. 7 cutoff. While some could have fallen into inactive status, that means there are roughly 25,700 registered voters in Polk County. The county
started with around 23,000 at the beginning of the year.
“There’s no denying that this county is growing at an increasing rate,” Coggins said. “So we have to be proactive in our planning for 2022 and beyond.”
The elections office had processed more than 2,600 absentee ballot requests for the Jan. 5 runoff as of Friday evening and had gotten over 500 completed ballots returned.
All polling places will be open on election day. Those who wish to request an absentee ballot for the runoff can do so by visiting ballotrequest.sos.ga.gov.