MOULTRIE, Ga. — Early voting started Monday in a special election to choose the region’s next state senator.

The Colquitt County Registrar’s Office said 41 ballots were cast in Moultrie on the first day.

State Senate District 10 includes Colquitt, Cook, Seminole, Decatur, Grady, Thomas and Brooks counties. The Observer does not have a tally of early votes cast in the other counties of the district.

Early voting continues 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday, until Jan. 27 at the Colquitt County Courthouse Annex, 116 Central Ave. in Moultrie.

Election day will be Jan. 31, when residents who have not voted early will cast ballots at their normal precincts.

The district re-elected Sen. Dean Burke, R-Bainbridge, in November, but Burke resigned in early December to accept a job as chief medical officer of the Georgia Department of Community Health. He had served as senator since 2013.

The next day, state Rep. Sam Watson, R-Moultrie, announced his resignation to seek Burke’s seat.

During qualifying, Watson was joined by two Cairo residents, Mary Weaver-Anderson, a Democrat, and John H. Monds, a Libertarian.

Barring a runoff, the winner of the election will take his or her seat in early February while the current legislature is still in session.

Also on the ballot is Colquitt County Administrator Charles “Chas” Cannon, who is running unopposed for Watson’s seat.