Home > Election Day > Archives > 2006 > August > 08 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USEast Cobb school board race attracts voters
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Cobb voters were trickling into polling places across the county in slow, but steady numbers by mid afternoon Tuesday in the runoff election.
Heaviest voting appeared to be in east Cobb where there is high interest in a hotly contested school board race. Republican incumbent Kathie Johnstone is attempting to fend off challenger John Crooks, a Baptist minister, who took 44 percent of the vote in the July primary to Johnstone’s 28 percent.
Elections director Sharon Dunn said voter turnout was slower in north, west and south Cobb than on the east side of the county. “East Cobb appears to be voting more. I assume it’s because of the school board race.” She reported no glitches by 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.
The Post 6 school board seat seat encompasses the Walton and Wheeler high school attendance zones. Winner of the Republican runoff will face Democrat Beth Farokhi in November.
It was the school board race that drew Dickerson Middle School parent Diane McCauley to cast her ballot Tuesday afternoon at the Mount Bethel 03 precinct at the East Cobb Government Center. “I missed voting in the primary but wanted to vote for Crooks,” she said. “I don’t know him personally, but I’ve heard very good things about him.” She said she was dissatified with the school board—Johnstone in particular —and looking to make a change.
“It’s been slow, but they’ve been coming in by ones and twos,” reported poll manager Robert Brown. By 2:45 p.m. 157 ballots had been cast out of 2,650 registered voters at the government center precinct on Lower Roswell Road, he said. One of the ballots cast was from U. S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, said poll worker Thomas Okerberg. “He was our second voter this morning.”
“A lot of people are interested in the school board race,” Okerberg said. “I’ve hard more comments from people that they’re here because of the school board.”
At Terrell Mill 01 precinct at East Valley Elementary School, 131 votes out of 1935 registered voters had been cast by 3:05 p.m. “It’s been very, very slow. We haven’t even got 10 percent yet,” said poll manager Imogene Yentsch. “There are only two runoffs on the Democratic ballot and three on the Republican ballot. It’s not enough to bring them out.”
The story was the same at Sedalia Park 01 precinct were 75 votes had been cast out of 1450 registered voters with only four hours to go before the polls closed. “It’s been rather slow but for a runoff that’s to be expected,” said poll manager William DeMonye Sr. At Eastside Elementary, poll manager Pat Eads said 70 ballots had been cast out of 1,000 voters.
Dunn earlier had predicted a 10 to 15 percent turnout based on early voting, but said Tuesday it may fall shy of that.
Permalink | | Categories: Cobb County
