VALDOSTA – Lowndes County Elections is urging voters to cast their votes as early voting approaches its end.
Supervisor of Elections Deb Cox said the early voting turnout has been slow and informed residents that the Lowndes County Elections Office’s final week operating hours are from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. from Monday, Oct. 30, to Friday, Nov. 3.
Shared documents showed about 1,056 individuals cast their vote within the first week of advanced voting starting from Monday, Oct. 16, to Sunday, Oct. 22. The largest voting day within the week was Wednesday, Oct. 18, with approximately 199 votes and one provisional ballot.
The second week totaled slightly lower than the first: Only 994 votes were made, the documents said.
Cox explained that only city residents are able to vote in the Nov. 7 election due to the county not having any active contests. Elections are being held for the cities of Dasher, Remerton, Hahira and Valdosta.
Murray Rivette, a retired 91-year old IBM employee and Air Force veteran, has been serving as a greeter during the polls. He’s served in the Lowndes County Elections for the last four years with his first being the presidential election of 2020.
“I love meeting the people. Today, it’s very slow. People come in maybe one to every ten or fifteen minutes. Everybody’s important so it counts,” Rivette said.
He also urges the community to come and place their vote at the polls.
“Some people think that their vote doesn’t count, but every vote does. That’s important that they vote in every election. If you don’t vote you can’t complain about it if the wrong person gets elected,” Rivette said.
Candidates qualified during the week of Aug. 21. Here are the candidates qualified as listed on the Georgia Secretary of State’s office website. The office is using a new system of listing qualifiers, which often does not designate the city in the link title.
Valdosta City Mayor
Incumbent Scott James MathesonFallon HarrisJ.D. Rice Jr.
City Council District 1
Incumbent Vivian Miller-CodyYurshema Flanders
City Council District 3
Incumbent Thomas McIntyreIndia Bell
City Council District 5
Incumbent Tim Carroll
City Council District 7 (At Large)
Nick “Big Nick” HardenBill LoveAlvin Payton Jr.Edgar “Nicky” Tooley
Valdosta City School Board
District 4
Incumbent Tyra Howard
District 5
Jason Deloach
District 6
Incumbent Thomas Moseley
City of Hahira
District 2
Incumbent Kenneth DavisKlay Luke
District 3
Terry BenjaminDavid Lindesy
Dasher City Council
Post 3
Mike DasherKenny Holton
Post 4
Incumbent Anita Armstrong ScottBradley Eyre
City of Remerton
Mayor
Incumbent Cornelius Holsendolph
City Council At-Large
Incumbent Steve KofflerToney “Paco” SalcedoIncumbent Bill Wetherington
More information: Contact the elections office at (229) 671-2850, e-mail elections@lowndescounty.com, or visit the office at 2808 N. Oak St., 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.