Florence Sellars, left, Deidra McClelland, center, and Tonita Scott, right, assist early voters on Monday, May 16, at the Colquitt County Courthouse in Annex Room 201.

MOULTRIE, Ga – As the last week of early voting begins, county election officials have reported a slow voter turnout. Time is winding down as the primary election day approaches, but officials remain optimistic. 

“Early voting is going okay,” Paula McCullough, the Colquitt County registrar said. “It’s not as much as we thought, but it has picked up.” 

Statewide, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has reported “record early voting turnout.”

“Through Sunday, May 15th, over 380,000 people have early voted in Georgia — a 217% increase from the same point in the early voting period in the 2018 primary election and a 155% increase from the same point in the early voting period in the 2020 primary election,” said a press release from Raffensperger’s office. “Georgia has had record early voting turnout since the first day of early voting this year, surging to nearly three times the number on the first day of primary voting in 2018 and double that of 2020, and has continued on that path since.”

The Secretary of State’’s office reported 383,586 early in-person ballots cast, along with 32,972 absentee ballots, as of Sunday.

Early voting started on Monday, May 2. As of Monday, May 16, Colquitt County has reported 1,040 early voters and 65 mail-in ballots. 

Voting was available on Saturday of the first two weeks of May for those who couldn’t make it through the week. 

On the first Saturday, May 7, there were 25 early voters, and on Saturday, May 14, there were 60. 

There are three contested local races on the ballot. Denver Braswell and Bruce E. Norton are running for County Commission Chairman in the contested Republican primary. The winner will run unopposed in November. 

Lee Elrod and Hayden Willis are running in the nonpartisan race for a seat on the Board of Education. 

Catherine Mims Smith, Robert L. Moore Jr. and William Long Whitesell are running to become a judge in the Superior Court of the Southern Judicial Circuit, which is also a nonpartisan race. 

Nonpartisan races will be decided at this election.

There are no contested seats for the Democratic Party. 

Colquitt County voters are also deciding whether to approve continuation of the Transportation Local Option Sales Tax, and a multitude of state offices are up for election.

Early voting is held 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through this Friday at Colquitt County Courthouse Annex in Room 201.

The general primary, nonpartisan, and special election day is scheduled for May 24.