No problems reported in Lumpkin County voting

News

LUMPKIN COUNTY, Ga. — Voting problems that were reported in Fulton and DeKalb counties last week did not materialize in many rural north Georgia counties.

In Dawson, White, Lumpkin and Habersham counties, voting went smoothly. Gilmer County did experience an internet issue that caused a 30-minute delay in opening at 7 a.m. But the problem was corrected and the precincts remained open an additional 30 minutes until 7:30 p.m.

In Lumpkin County Chief Voting Registrar Ashley Peck said, “We didn’t have anybody report they had any problems. There were a couple of questions about the ballot since we combined the two elections but nothing other than that.”

Lumpkin County has 21,300 active registered voters and 8,858 votes were cast, including 4,801 absentee ballots for a voter turnout of 41.5 percent.

“This is the first election I’ve done with that number of absentee ballots,” she said. “That’s unusual to have most of your votes cast by mail.”

 

Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. FYN attracts 300,000+ page views per month, 3.5 million impressions per month and approximately 15,000 viewers per week on FYNTV.com and up to 60,000 Facebook page reach. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com

 

 

 

 

858 voters have taken advantage of early voting

News

DAHLONEGA, Ga. – With two days left in the advanced voting period, Lumpkin County’s Chief Registrar and Elections Manager Ashley Peck said the turnout has been about what she expected for a runoff election.

Runoffs do not generally attract a large turnout. Thus far 858 Lumpkin County voters have taken advantage of shorter lines of advanced voting. That is compared to 1,312 who voted in person during advanced voting for the general primary in May.

There are three statewide contests at the top of the ballot. Lt. Governor Casey Cagle and Secretary of State Brian Kemp are hoping to replace outgoing governor Nathan Deal.

Kemp received a major endorsement today when President Donald Trump took to Twitter to announce that he is endorsing Kemp.

“Brian is tough on crime, strong on the border and illegal immigration. He loves our Military and our Vets and protects our Second Amendment. I give him my full and total endorsement,” the president wrote.

Kemp had already received the endorsement of two former gubernatorial candidates who failed to make the runoff – Hunter Hill and Clay Tippins.

There are two other statewide races to be decided. David Shafer and Geoff Duncan have waged a no-holds barred battle for the position of Lt. Governor. Shafer just missed winning without a runoff when he received 48.38 percent of the vote in a three-way race with Duncan and Rick Jeffares in the general primary.

In the secretary of state election, voters must choose between Brad Raffensperger and David Belle Isle.

There is also an important local race on the ballot. Clarence Grindle and Jeff Moran are competing for a spot on the Lumpkin County Board of Commissioners.

Advanced voting continues Thursday and Friday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.

 

 

Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. FYN attracts 300,000+ page views per month, 3.5 million impressions per month and approximately 15,000 viewers per week on FYNTV.com and up to 60,000 Facebook page reach. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

County Honors Marie Satterfield, Employees of the Year

News

DAHLONEGA, Ga. — The early portion of Tuesday’s Lumpkin County Board of Commissioners meeting was dedicated to honoring county employees whose service to the community has been above and beyond the call of duty.

First among the honorees was Marie Satterfield, a senior records technician in the Sheriff’s Office, who was the recipient of the 40-year Service Award.

Satterfield has dedicated half her life to serving the residents of Lumpkin County. Nine U.S. Presidents have moved into and out of the White House since she began her tenure.

Sheriff Stacy Jarrard said, “Marie is one of the hardest working people in the world. She has been a blessing to me and will continue to be a blessing to me for many years. She has so much knowledge. She cannot be replaced. It would take multiple people to replace her.”

Tim Foster was honored as the Sheriff’s Office Employee of the Year, Gabriel Hernandez was named Emergency Services Employee of the Year and Ashley Peck, the county’s Elections Superintendent was named Employee of the Year.

Malone Harrell was appointed to the Chestatee-Chattahoochee RC&D Council and Patrick Wood was appointed to the Park and Recreation Citizens Advisory Panel.

The board approved resolutions authorizing:

Tax Commissioner to accept checks and debit and credit cards for all taxes, fees and licenses due;

The Community Healthcare Partnership Grant application;

Local legislation to create Lumpkin County Airport Authority;

The City of Dahlonega and Lumpkin County to make improvements to Auraria Road.

The board also awarded a series of contracts, including:

The dates of June 3 & 4, 10 &17 & 18, 24 & 25 be reserved for the 16th annual Three Sisters Vineyards Georgia Wine Country Festival.

Record Number Voting in Lumpkin County

News

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. 8th, it will not be read if it arrives at the Board of Elections after Nov. 8th.

 

Early Voting for Primary Runoffs Ends Friday

News, Politics

LUMPKIN COUNTY, Ga. — Early voting will end Friday for the July 26 general election primary runoffs, which include two key races in Lumpkin County — county commission and coroner.

The coroner’s race has drawn particular interest due to the arrest of one of the candidates. Amanda Jones-Holbrooks was arrested earlier this month and charged with first-degree forgery, a felony. If convicted of a felony, she would not be eligible to hold public office even if she wins the election. Sources also say she is also under investigation for theft by deception.

Her opponent is Jim Sheppard, a veteran law enforcement office who is retiring this year after 28 years of service.

The county commission race is between incumbent Steve Shaw and challenger Bobby Mayfield. Mayfield was the top vote getter in the District 2 race with 1,511 votes to Shaw’s 1,187.
Early voting started July 5.

The Lumpkin County Elections Office reports 919 votes were cast in-person and 82 absentee ballots have been returned since July 5.

Georgia law requires a runoff if no candidate wins a majority in a general primary.

Election Officials Discuss Consolidation at Townall Meeting

News

DAHLONEGA, Ga. — Lumpkin County Elections officials held the first in a series of town hall meetings Tuesday to inform voters about the closing of all but one precinct in the November Election.

About 10-15 people showed up and Chief Registrar & Election Manager Ashley Peck said she was pleased with the 45-minute session. “There were very few complaints,” she said. “Mainly people just wanted to have their questions answered.”

Peck said a county-wide study showed that most, if not all, county buildings in Lumpkin County do not meet standards set by the Americans with Disabilities Act and that the county has until November to bring them into compliance.

Peck said it would cost between $55,000 and $65,000 to bring all the voting precincts into compliance. A better solution, she said, was to have only one voting precinct at the county’s Parks and Recreation facility which is already in compliance.

An upside of the consolidation is that voting lines will be shorter and voters will move through quicker. At a recent county commission meeting, Peck told commissioners the average wait time is about one hour but by moving all the voting machines and personnel to one location, the wait time will be greatly reduced.

All townhall meetings will begin at 6:30 p.m. and will be held at the the following locations:

Thursday, July 7, Phillipi Community Center;

Tuesday, July 12 Auraria Community Clubhouse;

Thursday, July 14 Dahlonega, Park and Rec Community Center;

Thursday, July 21, R-Ranch in the Mountains

Political Hopefuls Qualify This Week in Lumpkin County

Election, News, Politics

DAHLONEGA, Ga. –It’s qualifying week for political hopefuls in Lumpkin County and all across Georgia. Incumbents and newcomers seeking public office must officially declare their candidacy between Monday, March 7 and Friday, March 11.

Chief Registrar Ashley Peck said  qualifying will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily except Friday when qualifying ends at noon. Candidates are required to bring ID and qualifying fee to the Lumpkin County Elections Office.

Lumpkin County offices up for election include, County Commission Chairman, District 1 and 2 Commissioners, Tax Commissioner, Sheriff, Surveyor, Coroner, Board of Education District 1 and 3 and several judgeships.

Candidates for state offices such as state representative and state senate must qualify in Atlanta. Dist. 9 State Representative Kevin Tanner will seek reelection to a third term. State Senator Steve Gooch will vie for a fourth term. He represents the 51st District which includes Fannin, Union, Gilmer, Lumpkin, White, Dawson and parts of Pickens and Forsyth counties.

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