- Over 180 Lowndes County voters showed up to cast their ballots on the first day of early voting in the primaries.
- Turnout for this race is expected to be 2-3 times more than that of the preference primaries.
- Watch the video to hear from neighbors about why they feel more people should come and vote.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT
With over 15 seats up for grabs in the Azalea City, voters will have a lot to think about this election cycle.
I'm Malia Thomas, your neighborhood reporter in Valdosta.
I'm taking a look at what those positions are, and how they will impact my neighborhood.
Rose Wilson has lived in Valdosta for over seven years.
She encourages her neighbors to vote in local elections, because...
"Local race will determine, 'OK, will we get higher taxes or lower taxes? Will our children have better education? Will the elderly people be able to have what they they need?' Those type of things."
Not too many Valdostans seem to share Rose's passion... at least as of Monday.
Turnout for the first day of early voting is 184, slightly better than the 162 for the primary preference election in March.
Lowndes County currently has 85,425 registered voters, leaving current turnout numbers at .02%.
Still, it is very early in the race.
"There's a zillion variables out there that determines whether a person gets up and comes to vote or not."
Deb Cox is elections supervisor for Lowndes County.
She tells me she expects voter turnout to rise in the days ahead.
"Generally the turn out for this election will be double or triple what it was in March, and then in November everybody will vote."
The last presidential election saw 45,890 Valdostans cast their votes in 2020.
Two years later, the general election for state and local races saw a dip in turnout, with 34,838 ballots cast.
"I feel like on a national level, it doesn't really concern us small individuals."
This is Annette Hargett. I ran into her while she was casting her vote.
She tells me she's celebrating her birthday by exercising her right to vote.
"I feel that if you don't vote, then you don't have any reason to complain, because you decided not to do what was expected of you."
The last day to vote in the Georgia primaries will be Tuesday, May 21. In Valdosta, I'm Malia Thomas, reporting for ABC27.
