DAHLONEGA, Ga. — Today is the final day for advanced voting all across Georgia and voters in Lumpkin County are turning out in record numbers.

The county’s Chief Registrar and Elections Manager Ashley Peck said today that more than 50 percent of all active registered voters had cast their ballot by 5 p.m. Thursday.

“We’ve had 8,263 of the county’s 15,500 active registered voters cast their ballots in person and we’ve received another 480 mail-in ballots.” That far surpasses the record of 5,947 set in the 2008 presidential election.

Today is the final day for advanced, in-person voting but the poll will remain open until at 7 p.m. Advanced votes may be cast at the Lumpkin County Elections Office at 56 Short Street, Dahlonega.

Peck said she expects 70 percent of Lumpkin’s registered voters will have cast their ballots when the polls close on election day, Nov. 8. All polling precincts will be open on election day.

Absentee ballots must be at the Board of Elections by time polls close on Tuesday.  Since it is so close to Election Day, if you haven’t mailed your ballot yet, the best way to make sure your vote is counted is to deliver it by hand to the Board of Elections.  Even if your ballot is postmarked by Nov. 8^th, it will not be read if it arrives at the Board of Elections after Nov. 8^th.