Low voter turnout for special election

CHATHAM CO., GA (WTOC) - According to the supervisor of elections, voter turnout has been light and steady all day.

Of course we won't have exact numbers until after the polls close, but we do know that the turnout was lower than our last election earlier this month, which isn't a total surprise in a run-off election like this one.

"Well it's a little disappointing we had a light turnout, but that's actually to be expected. Run-off elections typically have a lower turnout, and this was the Tuesday after Easter, so I think people may be on vacation and all kinds of things," said Chatham County Board of Elections Chair Tom Mahoney.

The poll manager at the STEM Academy at Bartlett estimates they saw about a 60 to 75 percent drop in turnout compared to the last election day.

This is one of the precincts where folks are voting for both the sheriff race and the state house race, which makes things interesting for poll workers, because they have to process two different ballots for two separate elections.

"They've had to do a lot of training, a lot of extra training, the staff has had to get extra machines in place and extra workers in place and train extra workers. So I really want to give a lot of thanks and credit to the staff and poll workers and poll managers for doing a great job and doing it all with a smile," said Mahoney.

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