Voter Turnout Low in State Senate Election

More than 500 people in Milton and small portions of other North Fulton communities have voted in a special election for Georgia Senate District 21. That compares to the 700 plus Cherokee voters who cast ballots by midday Thursday in advance voting.

Friday, Jan. 4 is the last day for advance voting before the Jan. 8 election. Eliglbe Fulton voters in Senate District 21 can cast their ballots at 30 South Main Street, Suite 1 in Downtown Alpharetta, between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. The voting location is adjacent to Alpharetta City Hall in the former Main Street Antique Market.

Voters must pick a replacement for Chip Rogers, who officially won reelection in November, but resigned less than a month later to work for Georgia Public Broadcasting.

Brandon Beach, Rogers' primary opponent in 2012 elections, faces former Rep. Sean Jerguson for the seat. Jerguson resigned from his House District 21 seat to run for the state Senate seat.

Fulton County spokesperson Alicia Phillips said that through Wednesday, the Registration and Elections division reported 522 people took part in advance voting. Another 37 requests for absentee ballots were made by mail. Seven of those have been completed and returned.

Voter turnout is considerably lower than in the July 2012 primary, when 29,928 people in Cherokee and Fulton counties headed to the polls on election day or in advance voting. And it's even lower than the November General Election, when Rogers received 66,429 votes. No Democrat qualified for the position, so Rogers essentially won the seat in the primary.

Voting precincts will be open on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2013 from 7 a.m.-7 p.m.