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Voters flock to polls in Forsyth ahead of election on Tuesday
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* A sample ballot for the Georgia presidential preference primary on Tuesday can be found online at http://www.forsythco.com/Departments-Offices/Voter-Registrations-Elections.

* Voters can find their precinct at www.mvp.sos.ga.gov.

FORSYTH COUNTY — The three-week advance voting period for Georgia’s presidential preference primary has closed, but Forsyth County voters still have one more chance to choose their favorite candidate.

While nearly 13, 500 people have cast their ballots early, the county’s supervisor of voter registrations and elections still expects a sizeable turnout Tuesday.

“We have about 50 percent of our voters who do vote advance voting,” Barbara Luth said. “But I still think a lot of people have probably waited until Election Day so they knew a little bit more about what happened with the candidates.”

All 16 county precincts will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday. Luth cautioned voters to stay informed, as some names on the ballot have suspended their campaigns.

“[The ballots still] will have everybody [on there],” she said. “They will have all of the people that put in to be on the ballot. They will be on the ballot because they have not put in letters to the secretary of state and to the [political] parties telling us that they have actually formally withdrawn.

“People need to really look at the news to see who has pulled out so they can make their decision.”

After totaling 1,784 in person voters in the first week and 3,005 in the second week, advance voting took off in the third week with 8,682 votes cast, or more than half of the 13,471 total through Friday afternoon.

In addition, some 600 of the 1,006 absentee ballots the office mailed out had been returned in that time frame.

According to Luth, last week’s increase likely was due to the polls being open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. instead of 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at four of the advance voting locations.

The fifth, the Forsyth County Administration Building, was open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for all three weeks.

“We really have had what we anticipated,” she said. “ … It’s always busy in the third week, because we are actually open longer … we get those people that are coming in from work.”

Advance voting took place at Cumming City Hall, Hampton Park Library and the community buildings at Sharon Springs and Midway parks.

In primaries, voters are required to choose a party ballot.

Unsurprisingly, Forsyth voters were more likely to vote Republican, 11,718 ballots, or 87 percent, than Democrat, with 1,753 ballots, or 13 percent.