Early voting ends soon
Early voting runs through Friday for most counties. Some counties have added voting locations and changed hours for the advance voting period that began this week. Below is a list of advance voting locations in Northeast Georgia. Election Day voting will be 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Nov. 2 at locations across Northeast Georgia. Voters can find their registration status, polling locations and voting requirements online.
Banks County
Banks County Chief Registrar, Banks County Annex, 150 Hudson Ridge, Suite 2, Homer, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Dawson County
Dawson County Election Supervisor, 96 Academy Ave., Dawsonville, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Forsyth County
Voter Registrations and Elections Office, Forsyth County Administration Building, 110 E. Main St., Suite 200, Cumming, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Forsyth County Public Safety Complex, 3520 Settingdown Road, Cumming, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Midway Park, 5100 Post Road, Cumming, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Cumming Public Library, 585 Dahlonega Highway, Cumming, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
County property formerly known as Lakeland Community Church, 2110 Sharon Road, Cumming, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Habersham County
Habersham County Chief Registrar, Habersham County Courthouse, 555 Monroe St., Unit 45, third floor, Clarkesville, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Ruby Fulbright Aquatic Center, 120 Paul Franklin Road, Clarkesville, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Hall County
Hall County Elections Office, 2285 Browns Bridge Road, Suite 2, Gainesville, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Jackson County
Administrative Building, 67 Athens St., Jefferson, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
204 Carson St., Commerce, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
540 Ga. 53, Braselton, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Lumpkin County
Lumpkin County Election Supervisor, 99 Courthouse Hill, Suite G, Dahlonega, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Towns County
Towns County Election Supervisor, 91 Berrong St., Hiawassee, 8:30 to 5 p.m. through Friday and 9 a.m. to noon Saturday
Union County
Union County Chief Registrar, 65 Courthouse Street, Suite 9, Blairsville, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
White County Chief Registrar, 59 S. Main St., Suite C, Cleveland, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
After a successful month, early voting will come to an end Friday.
Since early voting began Sept. 16, nearly 10,000 early ballots have been cast in Hall County.
And the Hall County Elections Office has seen more voters hoping to take advantage of the last week of early voting.
Interim Director of Elections Charlotte Sosebee said more voters have come in each day this week.
Last week, an average of 500 voters came in per day, followed by 650 on Monday and 800 on Tuesday.
"We'll probably get to the 1,000 mark by Friday," Sosebee said.
Sosebee said many people like to vote early but want to wait until closer to the end of the 45-day early voting period.
"A lot of them are waiting to see what's going to happen in debates," Sosebee said. "I think a lot of them are just wanting to get it over with. Friday is the last day. If you don't vote on Friday, you have to vote on Tuesday."
Midterm elections typically have a much lower voter turnout than presidential elections.
In the 2008 presidential election, 27,570 of a total 60,276 voters voted early, Sosebee said.
"In the 2006 gubernatorial election, we had an overall 51 percent voter turnout. In 2008, we had 76 percent. However, most voters cast an early ballot rather than going to the polls. My prediction this year is 65 percent voter turnout," Sosebee said.
She said having local candidates in statewide races may contribute to higher turnout. Sosebee said the election seems to be bringing out a few first time voters.
"A number of voters said it was their first time voting," Sosebee said. "They're not 18 and that says a lot. It brought tears to my eyes."
According to the Secretary of State's Office, Fulton County, with 34,028 early voters, tops the state in pre-election day turnout.
The other metro-area counties in the top five include Cobb, DeKalb, Gwinnett and Henry. Henry County bottomed out the top five with 13,587 early voters.
Hall County was in the top five early-voting counties shortly after the early voting period began in September.