Early voting sets record

♦ Gordon County voters turned out in record numbers, setting a new high mark of early ballots cast by Thursday, with one day left to go.

Voters in Gordon County had already set a new record by Thursday for the number of ballots cast early, with one day remaining in the early voting period.

Shea Hicks, chair of the Gordon County Board of Elections and Voter Registration Office, said 10,842 ballots had been cast early as of close of business on Thursday. The previous record of early ballots in Gordon was just over 9,000.

“We have seen a lot of voters cast their ballot early in Gordon County,” Hicks said Thursday. “We are very excited about the voter turnout in Gordon County. We are definitely making history.”

Early voting to continued through Friday, so that record was set to grow before the weekend, especially considering that more county voters have registered to cast ballots this year than in any prior election.

“We have 37,207 registered voters this year. In 2016, we had 24,934,” Hicks said. “This is the most registered voters we’ve ever seen in Gordon County.”

Polls will be open on Tuesday from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. Hicks said social distancing will be enforced at the polls on Election Day, and cleaning measures will being taken at each booth between usage.

Absentee ballot requests have also hit an all-time high this year, with more than 4,800 requests made for the general election. All absentee ballots must be returned by 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3, to be counted.

Absentee ballots can be returned by mail, in person at the county elections office or at a secure drop box that the elections office has set up. In Gordon County, the drop box is located at the Elections Office at the Gordon County Annex building. The drop box is to the left of the front door of the building.

Absentee ballots can be returned by the voter, their mother, father, grandparent, uncle, aunt, brother, sister, spouse, son daughter, niece, nephew, grandchild, sonin-law, daughter-in-law, mother-in-law, father-in-law, brother-in-law or sisterin-law; an individual residing in the same household as the voter; or the caretaker of a voter with disabilities.

It is against the law in Georgia for anyone not identified above to collect your ballot.

Find your voting precinct by visiting www.mvp.sos.ga.gov.