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Low turnout continues into the afternoon
Posted at: Tuesday, March 2, 2004, 03:24 PM
From staff reports
Few people were casting ballots as Super Tuesday dragged into the afternoon.
At the Heritage Precinct in Woodstock, only 91 voters had cast a ballot in the presidential primary and state flag referendum by 2 p.m.
“It’s very slow,” said poll manager Kaye Thrasher. We were told to expect a 30 percent turnout. A rush for us is three people.”
Thrasher said a few people are apprehensive about using the machines for the first time. “But we showed them what to do and they came out smiling, saying ‘That was so easy.’”
Statewide, there was “light turnout” as of mid-afternoon, said Cara Hodgson, public information officer for the secretary of state’s office.
Secretary of State Cathy Cox, who oversees elections, had earlier predicted that 26 percent of Georgia’s registered voters, or slightly more than one million citizens, would participate in Tuesday’s Presidential Preference Primary and Special Advisory Flag Referendum.
As of Feb. 1, Georgia had 3,919,403 voters on its active voter roll.
The special referendum on the flag caused a little confusion early this morning at some precincts, said Hodgson, but the matter was quickly resolved.
Hodgson said there were three ballots voters could choose; Democratic, Republican and one listing just the flag referendum.
Many voters wanting to vote in the presidential primary mistakenly used a “special election ballot,” which listed just the flag question, said Hodgson.
“Normally we do not have [a statewide special referendum] in a presidential preference primary” and that contributed to the confusion, said Hodgson.
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