- Lowndes County has over 84,000 registered voters, but usually only 6 percent of them show up for non-presidential elections.
- Election results will be certified by 5 p.m. on March 15th.
- Watch the video to hear from neighbors on why local elections matter.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT
Lowndes County may have over 84,000 registered voters, but fewer than six thousand have shown up this far.
I'm Malia Thomas, your neighborhood reporter in Valdosta, and I'm speaking with neighbors at the polls for the Presidential Preference Primary.
Mary Blocker isn't just a voter...
She's a poll watcher for our county's Republican Party.
I met her at one of the polling places, Trinity Church off of Bemiss and North Oak.
"We go to the different precincts, and we make sure that there are no problems there."
She tells me going out to vote herself and making sure our votes count are ways she gives back.
"We have the privilege and the honor as US citizens to vote, and it should be done correctly."
However, in her last 15 years as a watcher, she hasn't noticed any problems in Lowndes County, especially for lower turnout elections like this.
"Everything seems to run smoothly. We have a good system that we use, and I think it's it's very good."
The other 79,000+ registered voters in the county don't seem to share the same fervor.
Voter turnout for this cycle is at 6.8% for the county, and 4,265 of those who have already voted didn't come to the polls, but submitted absentee ballots instead.
I checked in with Darrion Ratliff, the Lowndes County Board of Elections technician assistant, who tells me that local and nonresidential elections typically see lower numbers.
He expects the actual Presidential Race to have lines out the door.
"November is the actual Presidential, the big, big one... very very busy. I couldn't tell you a number, but it's going to be a lot more than this one."
Which Mary tells me is disappointing because....
"Elections have consequences, and we need to know about who we're voting for, especially locally."
Results for this election will be certified by 5pm on March 15th. In Valdosta, I'm Malia Thomas, reporting for ABC27.
