The election season is about to commence in Liberty County, and elections and registration supervisor Ronda Walthour said her team is ready.
Georgia’s presidential preference primary is first on the calendar, with precincts across the county opening March 12. Early voting commences February 19, which is a holiday, but Walthour said her offices will be open to accommodate the first day of early voting.
“Because there are federal names on the ballot, we have to be open,” she told county commissioners.
In the midst of presidential primary voting, there is also qualifying for this year’s countywide offices. Qualifying begins March 4 and ends March 8 at 12 noon for candidates wishing to run for sheriff, tax commissioner, probate judge, chief magistrate, clerk of superior court, state court judge, state court solicitor, coroner, county commission chairman, county commission Districts 4–6 and school board Districts 1–3.
Primaries will be held in local and statewide elections May 21.
“It’s full speed ahead right now,” Walthour said.
Walthour said she has a 95% retention rate from staff and poll workers going into this election cycle. She also is preparing to keep them safe during voting — her office is conducting training with law enforcement, even taking part in an active shooter scenario, and is undergoing CPR training.
“Security is an issue,” she said. “We are warning our officers to be prepared this year. Our first and foremost mindset is to make sure our people are safe. After 17 years I never thought I would hear this but I want to be prepared and I want our people to be prepared because you just don’t know.”
Walthour also expressed the future need for new precincts in growing parts of the county. Two older voting precincts, one on Highway 196 in Fleming and another on Highway 196 in Gum Branch, are closed.
“They are not up to standard,” she said.
There is enough room at the old Fleming precinct building — that precinct now votes at the Liberty County Performing Arts Center — to do something there, Walthour pointed out.
Walthour said her office looked at a putting a voting precinct in the Sunbury area but there wasn’t a facility. Many of those residents along the coast have had their voting precinct moved to the county complex in Midway, from the Fleming East precinct.
Walthour has considered putting in a precinct closer to voters living east of I-95, perhaps one near Tradeport East.
“I would love to have a precinct right there,” she said.
The elections office had to keep its east end complex voting precinct open during the Walthourville runoff. Under state law, Walthour said, once a precinct is open for the regular voting, it has to be open again for the runoff. While she kept a minimal number of staff there, there were some voters who cast their ballots there.
The county elections office is still calculating its fees for running the municipal elections.
“It’s extremely expensive to run an election,” Walthour said. “It isn’t cheap.”
Voters in Liberty County will have three names on the Democrat side for the presidential preference primary — incumbent Joe Biden and challengers U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips and Marianne Williamson. Though many of the Republican contestants have ended their campaigns, their names remain on the ballot. On the ballot are former President Donald Trump, Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, Ryan Binkley, Doug Burgum, Chris Christie, Asa Hutchinson, Perry Johnson, Vivek Ramaswamy, Tim Scott and David Stuckenberg.