Election season is upon us here in Chattooga County and voters have plenty of important decisions to make in the coming months.  Two weeks from today on Tuesday March 1^st, voters in Chattooga county will head to the polls for the Presidential Preference Primary.  Eligible voters will choose either a Republican or Democrat ballot and then vote for their favorite Presidential candidate to represent their respective party in the November General election.   In order to vote in the Presidential Preference Primary, voters must have been registered to vote as of February 1^st.  There are no other races on the ballot in the Presidential Preference Primary Election other than choosing a Presidential candidate for the party you choose your ballot for.

If you cannot make it to the polls on Tuesday March 1^st, you can take advantage of early voting at the Registrar’s office in downtown Summerville.  Early voters can cast their ballots at the Registrar’s office from 9am-5pm Monday through Friday until February 26^th.  If you cannot make it to early voting during the week, the Registar’s office will be open for early voting this coming Saturday February 20^th from 9am until 4pm.  The Registrar’s office in Summerville is the only location in Chattooga County to early vote.

AM 1180 spoke with Elaine Pledger from the Registrar’s office and as of Monday afternoon, 106 voters had already cast their vote in early voting.  Mrs. Pledger wanted to emphasize that all county voters can early vote at the Registrar’s office in Summerville no matter what voting precinct they live in.  Mrs. Pledger said that there has been some confusion in the past with voters who thought that they could not early vote in Summerville since they did not live in the Summerville precinct.  Early voting is open to all registered voters in Chattooga County regardless of their voting precinct.

If you cannot make it to the polls on March 1^st or to early voting, you can request an absentee ballot by contacting the Registrar’s office for an application or print the application online from the Secretary of State’s website.  Once you have filled out the application, you can either fax the completed application to the Registrar’s Office in Summerville or email it to chattoogaregistrar@gmail.com.

If you didn’t register to vote in time for the Presidential Preference Primary, don’t worry you still have time to register before the General Primary Election in May.  The General Primary Election features several local and state races in addition to national races.  In order to vote in the General Primary Election on May 24^th, you must be registered to vote by April 26^th.  You have until October 11^th to register for the November 8^th General Election.

 

Elections	Election Date	Voter Registration Deadline
Presidential Preference Primary and Special Election	March 1, 2016	February 1, 2016
Special Runoff Date	March 29, 2016	February 1, 2016
General Primary Election, Nonpartisan General Election, and Special Runoff Election	May 24, 2016	April 26, 2016
General Primary Runoff, Nonpartisan General Runoff Election, and Special Runoff Election Date	July 26, 2016	April 26, 2016
General Election	November 8, 2016	October 11, 2016
General Election Runoff Date for Local and State Offices	December 6, 2016	October 11, 2016
General Election Runoff Date for Federal Offices	January 10, 2017	October 11, 2016