Balloting beats crowds at polls

Early voting for the presidential preference primary begins Monday.

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For those wishing to avoid the lines at the polls for the Feb. 5 election, three early voting sites are available in Columbia County: the Columbia County Board of Elections office, 500 Faircloth Drive, Building E, Evans; Patriots Park, 5445 Columbia Road, Grovetown; and Savannah Rapids Pavilion, 3300 Evans to Locks Road, Martinez.

Early voting in Columbia County started in July 2004, making the upcoming election the first presidential primary available for the program, said Debbie Marshall, the director of the county's board of elections.

Marshall expects a 30 percent turnout for the Feb. 5 primary with 1,500 to 1,900 of those voters taking advantage of the early voting process.

Although some presidential candidates have dropped out of the race in the weeks leading up the Georgia primary, some of those names might still appear on the ballot.

"The state hasn't sent us anything about anyone dropping out of the race," Marshall said. "We haven't seen any notice to take anyone off the ballot."

Hours for early voting are between 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. Friday.

For more information, call the board of elections office at (706) 868-3355.