More Than 6,200 Vote Early In Cherokee County

CANTON, GA — Thousands of residents have shown up to the Cherokee County Elections and Voter Registration Office in downtown Canton to cast ballots weeks ahead of the Nov. 6 general election.

As of Friday, 6,236 citizens have voted at the office on East Main Street, according to numbers provided by Director Kim Stancil. Stancil told Patch the process this week has gone "very well."

"The turnout is heavy and the parking lot is congested, but we have it under control," she said.

Broken down, the downtown Canton office had 1,162 voters on Monday; 1,244 on Tuesday; 1,218 on Wednesday; 1,268 on Thursday; and 1,344 on Friday. Additionally, Cherokee County has issued 4,817 ballots by mail, with 2,035 of those valid ballots returned to the office. The county has had to cancel or reject 94 ballots and 2,742 have not been returned, the office notes in its weekly report.

Stancil said she and her staff were anticipating large crowds "because voters had been calling for weeks to find out when early voting was starting."

"We had numerous voters who came hoping to vote weeks ago, thinking that early voting had already begun," she said. "I think we’ll see record numbers for the next two weeks."

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Early voting continues from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 22-26 at the Cherokee County Elections & Registration Office at 400 East Main Street in Canton. Saturday voting will also be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 27 at the elections office and the following four public libraries:

• Ball Ground Public Library, 435 Old Canton Road, Ball Ground
• Hickory Flat Public Library, 2740 East Cherokee Drive, Canton
• Rose Creek Public Library, 4476 Towne Lake Parkway, Woodstock
• Woodstock Public Library, 7735 Main Street, Woodstock

Early voting continues at the elections office and expands to the libraries for the week of Monday, Oct. 29, running through Friday, Nov. 2. Polls will be open at those locations from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. for voters to mark their ballots.

No voting will be held Monday, Nov. 5, and all polls across Cherokee County will open for Election Day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 6. If you are a traditionalist and plan to vote on Election Day, please note that you must vote at your assigned precinct location on Nov. 6.

You can check your voter registration card or visit the Georgia Secretary of State My Voter Page to view your precinct location. The SOS site also includes links to sample ballots for Cherokee County voters.

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