Nearly All of Oconee County’s Early Voters in Presidential Primary Used Republican Ballot

Just more than 5 percent of the active registered voters in Oconee County have already cast their ballots in the presidential primaries, for which final voting will take place on Tuesday.

Of the 1,060 votes cast by the end of early voting on Friday, 1,033 (98 percent) were cast in the highly contested Republican primary, with the remaining 27 being cast in the Democratic primary, where the only name on the ballot is that of President Barack Obama.

The primaries are open, so voters simply asked for the ballot they wished to use. The same will be possible on Tuesday.

Georgia voters do not register by party, and it is clear that Oconee County voters who voted in advance of the Tuesday election opted for the primary in which their votes can make a difference.

Things were different in 2008, when both parties had contested primaries. That year, 66 percent of those who cast a ballot did so in the Republican primary.

The Republican Party allocates delegates based on population and number of Republicans holding elected offices in the state, and Georgia’s 76 delegates are the most up for grabs on Tuesday, when nine other states will be selecting delegates.

For more on the election on Tuesday and on early voting, go to Oconee County Observations.