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Voters return to polls
Runoff set for Tuesday
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Forsyth County News
Poll hours

• All precincts will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday.
• To find your precinct, go online at www.forsythco.com/voterlookupapp.

Voter ID

• Voters must have one of the following six forms of identification: Georgia driver's license, valid ID card by any state or U.S. with photo, valid U.S. passport, valid government employee photo ID, valid U.S. military ID card with photo or valid tribal ID card with photo.
Voters may be getting tired of going to the polls, but Forsyth County elections supervisor Barbara Luth has yet to see any signs of it.

The year's fourth election, the state primary runoff, will take place Tuesday.

The runoff will determine the party winners of any July 20 primary race in which no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote.

Luth predicted about a 15 percent turnout for the runoff, though she said her guesses have been surpassed by voters during each election so far.

"They have been real enthusiastic through the whole year, and I don't think it's going to wane," Luth said.

As of Friday, the last day of advance voting, 2,571 people had cast a ballot in person in addition to 64 that participated in early voting.

Absentee ballots have begun to trickle in, with 103 mail-in votes as of Friday.

Luth predicted the runoff for county commissioner in District 3 would draw more of those Republican voters back to the polls.

With none of the four candidates gaining a majority of the primary vote, incumbent Jim Harrell and challenger Todd Levent will meet Tuesday.

Since there's no Democratic opposition, the winner of this election will take the seat. Only residents in District 3 can cast a vote in the race.

Levent led the balloting last month with 1,008 votes, or about 33 percent, with Harrell grabbing 947 votes, or about 31 percent.

Each man has earned some notable endorsements.

Harrell has been backed by the Post Road Committee for Proper Development, as well as former opponent Mark Venco, who finished fourth last month.

"Anytime someone that you ran against will help you with your campaign, I think it speaks well that perhaps our missions weren't too far apart, and he had respect for how I ran my campaign," Harrell said.

Forsyth Citizens for Responsible Growth has endorsed Levent from the start, and the local Fraternal Order of Police recently added its name to the former law enforcement officer's list of supporters.

Levent said the "personal interaction" central to his campaign earned him the endorsements.

He expressed excitement about the upcoming contest, saying he and his supporters have been "working hard to get people back to the polls."

Harrell thought the turnout would be good compared to the previous primary vote, especially with the Republican governor's race still on the ballot.

"I can't imagine voting in that one and getting it down to the final two and not going back and voting," he said.

Nathan Deal and Karen Handel will face off for the party's gubernatorial nomination.

Other Republican races include: Sam Olens and Preston W. Smith for attorney general and Ralph Hudgens and Maria Sheffield for commissioner of insurance and safety fire.

Republican voters living in the 7th Congressional District, which includes some of south Forsyth, can choose between Rob Woodall and Jody Hice to fill the U.S. House seat.

Tom Graves and Lee Hawkins will also be on the Republican ballot in a runoff for the U.S. District 9 House. It is their fourth meeting in about three months.

The two met in a June runoff after the May special election for the seat vacated by Deal.

Graves won the runoff and is serving out the remainder of the term, which ends in December. The winner of the Aug. 10 runoff will go on to serve a full term beginning January.

Democrats have fewer options in the runoff. Only the secretary of state's contest between Gail Buckner and Georganna Sinkfield is on their ballot.

All eligible registered voters, whether they voted in the primary or not, are able to cast a ballot in the Tuesday runoff.

For those who did vote in the primary, they must vote in the runoff on the same party ticket as they did the July 20 primary election.

Luth added that voters need to go to their assigned precinct polling places on Tuesday.