With fewer signs and far less fanfare, Election Day is coming up once again.

On Tuesday, voters will be asked to come out for the sixth time this year to choose candidates in a runoff election for Supreme Court justice and Court of Appeals judge.

In Hall County, just 200 ballots were cast during the early voting period, indicating that turnout likely will be low.

"If it was something local, I think we would have a higher turnout," said Hall County Interim Elections Director Charlotte Sosebee. "My first projection was 7 percent. But based on what we are seeing here, I would say 5 percent."

Sosebee said she notices that in general, fewer people vote in judicial elections, which are nonpartisan.
"I think some voters will turnout on Tuesday," Sosebee said. "It'll be low, but there will be turnout."

In a general election, voters often will turn out to vote for certain candidates and then for down-ticket races they know little about, they will vote based on political party affiliation.

"There will be very few cues since it's nonpartisan," said Charles Bullock, a professor of political science at the University of Georgia. "The only cue is gender, that's about it."

Josh Teyler, campaign manager for appeals court candidate Chris McFadden, said he hopes people will educate themselves about the position rather than voting based on criteria like name, gender or ballot position.

"We want people to be first and foremost informed voters, not just that they're reflexively performing their societal duty but that they actually know who they're voting for," Teyler said.

Antoinette "Toni" Davis, who is in the runoff for the appeals court judge seat, said she has spent a lot of time on the campaign trail talking to voters about the position.

"I really do think that's the candidate's burden to make people aware of what the court of appeals does," Davis said. "Once they find out what the court of appeals does, I have found so many of them are really invested in the race and they realize the magnitude of it and they are eager to participate."

Bullock said the lack of interest in the judicial races is likely due in large part to the fact that many people simply don't know about them.

"Judicial candidates don't do a whole lot of campaigning," Bullock said. "There's not a lot of information circulating."

Because of the nature of the positions, judicial candidates have to campaign delicately.

The Judicial Qualifications Commission has a code of ethics for candidates that is more strict than traditional campaign etiquette.

For example, Davis said many voters will ask her how she would rule on a hypothetical situation, which she cannot answer according to the code of ethics.

"It is very difficult sometimes to convey to the voters the importance of this position while at the same time saying, ‘I'm sorry I really can't answer your questions directly,'" Davis said.

Teyler also said communicating with voters can be a challenge.

"Judicial races are very different from legislative races and constitutional officer races," Teyler said. "Judges have difficulty raising money and consequently they have difficulty getting their message out. Judicial candidates, before 1998, could not even ask for money directly."

In the Supreme Court runoff, incumbent Justice David Nahmias faces family law attorney Tamela Adkins, who didn't campaign or accept contributions.

Nahmias was appointed to the bench last year by Gov. Sonny Perdue, but he didn't get enough votes to win the race Nov. 2.

Nahmias received 48 percent of the vote, with Adkins at 35 percent.

Nahmias said on a recent trip to Gainesville that though his position is little known, it is important.

" ... If the judges don't enforce the law as written, you're not getting the kind of government you wanted," he said. "The legislation won't have the effect it's supposed to have."

Adkins, who began campaigning after she made it to the runoff, said she is working to get voters to the polls with the same message she used two years ago in the race for Court of Appeals.

"I touched a lot of people, and my message is that I want to be on the Supreme Court because I've tried thousands of cases with ordinary Georgians in Georgia courtrooms, representing family, children and business owners for 18 years," she said. "I think I'm well-qualified to sit on the bench with that trial experience."

All polling precincts will be open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Staff writer Carolyn Crist contributed to this report.