By Becky Long
Publisher
If you haven’t voted early in Clay County, there’s still a few days remaining before Tuesday’s election day.
Early voting is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and concludes Saturday, March 2. On the single Saturday of voting, hours are 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Unlike the March 5 primaries, early voting is conducted at the Board of Elections Office, 5 Riverside Circle Suite 3 in Hayesville.
Republican ballots are proving the most popular choice for unaffiliated voters during the early voting period, according to voter statistics from the Clay County Board of Elections.
Republican registration surpasses all parties with 4,802 compared to 1,380 Democrats and 61 Libertarians. Those registered unaffiliated numbered 3,619 as of last week.
There is also only one local race, four people vying for two seats on the Clay County Board of Education, which appears on the Republican ballot. Those candidates are incumbents Reba Beck and Danny Jones along with contenders Josh Ashe and Jeanine Craig.
At the close of the Tuesday’s early voting, 632 Republican ballots were requested by voters compared to 141 Democratic Party ballots.
When broken down by voter preference, 447 registered Republicans voted their ballot and 185 unaffiliated voters had also chosen a Republican ballot.
In the Democratic Party primary ballot, 141 registered Democrats voted their ballot and 40 unaffiliated voters requested one.
In total 773 have voted early and 15 absentee ballots have been returned.
Those who decided to wait until election day will vote at their precincts and will need to bring a photo ID. Precincts are open 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on March 5.
Here are the precinct locations:
• Brasstown: Civic Community Center (conference room) 255 Settawig Rd. Brasstown.
• Hayesville One: : Community Service Building 1 Riverside Circle, Hayesville.
• Hayesville Two: Good Shepherd Episcopal Church 495 Herbert Hills Dr. Hayesville.
• Hayesville Central: Town Hall, 56 Sanderson Street Hayesville.
• Hiawassee: Mount Pleasant Baptist Church 50 Marvin Cabe Lane Hayesville.
• Shooting Creek: Community Center 18 Eagle Fork Rd Hayesville.
• Sweetwater: Sweetwater United Methodist Church Rd 108 Sweetwater Church Rd Hayesville.
• Tusquittee: Community Center 4374 Downings Creek Rd. Hayesville.
• Warne: Community Center 4759 OldHwy 64 W Warne.
The State Board of Elections is warning voters that results may not be posted as swiftly as before.
As a result of recent changes in state law, in-person early voting results will be reported later than usual on election night for the 2024 primary. This, in turn, may cause Election Day results to be reported later as well.
Previously, county boards of elections could tabulate early voting results before the close of polls, then report those results almost immediately at 7:30 p.m. on election night. Under changes made in Session Law 2023-140 (Section 29), county boards must wait until 7:30 p.m. to “close the polls” on early voting tabulators and begin the process of counting and reporting results of ballots cast during the early voting period, according to the state BOE.
This process will take an estimated 30 to 60 minutes – and possibly longer in some counties – before unofficial early voting results can be posted publicly on the State Board of Elections’ Election Results Dashboard.
Because the March 5 primary will be the first election held under the new law, election officials do not know exactly how long it will delay the reporting of results. State Board staff will monitor the situation throughout election night and assist county boards of elections if necessary.