Record primary turnout in Walker, Catoosa

Voting in Catoosa and Walker counties for the May 24 general primary was stronger than ever.

The Georgia Senate 53 race to replace veteran senator Jeff Mullis, who is retiring, was a big draw in both counties.

And in Catoosa, the race for a new chairman on the county Board of Commissioners drew lots of voters.

Here’s a breakdown of voter turnout for each county.

CATOOSA COUNTY

Catoosa County residents had two separate elections in this year’s general primary. One was the regular election for local, state and federal candidates. The other was to decide who would become the next chairman of the Catoosa County Board of Commissioners.

Turnout was high. Registered voters numbered 44,785 out of a population of around 67,200. Of those, 13,111 voted in the general primary and 9,939 voted in the Board of Commissioners race.

In the 2018 general primary, the most recent comparable race, 5,284 Catoosa voters cast ballots. That number more than doubled this year, says Catoosa County Elections Director Tonya Moore.

Of those who cast ballots in 2018, 1,492 voted early at the polls and 97 voted absentee by mail.

“We killed our numbers,” Moore says of the astounding 248% increase in turnout this year.

WALKER COUNTY

Walker County folks felt strongly about this midterm election. Over double the number voted this year than the last midterm in 2018.

In 2018, 5,003 Walker County voters cast ballots. This year, that number was 11,317, says Walker County Director of Elections Danielle Montgomery.

That’s still a far cry from the number who could have voted. Montgomery says there were 42,506 registered voters in the county. The population of Walker County is around 69,400.

Of those who cast ballots, 3,773 voted early at the polls and 520 voted absentee by mail.

Montgomery says the polls stayed busy all day on the 24th, election day, with 20- minute waits common, but after 5 p.m. waiting times grew much longer. “It stayed very busy from five till seven,” says Montgomery.