Early voting for runoff commences on Monday

Columbia County voters don't have to wait until Dec. 5 to cast a ballot in the General Election runoff.

Advanced voting begins Monday at the Columbia County Board of Elections office on Ronald Reagan Drive in Evans.

Registered voters, including those who did not vote in the Nov. 7 General Election, can cast an advanced ballot from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday at the office in Building B of the Evans Government Complex.

The Nov. 7 General Election left two area runoff elections and a state runoff. David Roper and Bill Williams are vying for an Augusta Judicial Circuit judgeship. Lee Muns and Regina Buccafusco will face off in the runoff election for Columbia County's at-large elected school board chairmanship. The race for a state Public Service Commission seat between Republican incumbent Stan Wise and Democrat David Burgess also will be decided.

More than 50 percent of registered voters turned out to vote in the Nov. 7 General Election. Deborah Marshall, the executive director of the county's Board of Elections, had predicted a turnout of just 35 percent in the General Election.

"I'm glad they (voters) surprised me," Marshall said. "We voted 50 percent, which was great."

Marshall said she anticipates far fewer voters in the runoff election, which is typical. Marshall said 12 percent to 15 percent of voters will likely cast votes in the runoff. That number, she said, would be even smaller if no local races were on the ballot.

Absentee voting, which requires one of several stipulations to participate in, was held Nov. 17-24. Marshall said 239 people cast absentee votes in the office by Wednesday, and nearly 900 absentee ballots were mailed Tuesday.

Unlike absentee voting, residents voting in advance do not need an excuse to vote the week before the Dec. 5 runoff election.

For more information, call the Columbia County Board of Elections office at (706) 868-3355.