According to the Georgia Secretary of State’s office over 750,000 Georgians have already voted, putting the pace ahead of 2012 when nearly 2 million voters cast their ballots early. With about two weeks of early voting left, expect a whole lot more votes to come in before the long lines of election day.
Pundits expect total turnout numbers to approach the 76% participation record set in 2008.
Go here to find early voting locations in your county; some have polling stations open 7 days a week leading up to the election.
3rd Congressional District debate
The U.S. Senate race wasn’t the only one to have a debate over the weekend – the Atlanta Press Club also hosted a debate between Republican Mike Ferguson and Democrat Angela Pendley that figures to help voters decide who to vote for on November 8th. The debate, a relatively mellow affair, was hosted by Freelance Journalist Maggie Lee, Clay Neely of the Newnan Times-Herald, and Elly Yu of WABE.
Ferguson is expected to cruise in the heavily Republican 3rd District, which saw Congressman Lynn Westmoreland cruise to huge margins of victory over Democratic opponents when one was even found to run against him. The district hasn’t gone blue since 2004, when Jim Marshall served the second of two terms.
State Senator gets his own beer
State Senator Hunter Hill has been the staunchest supporter of the state’s craft brewing industry in recent years, and now he’s being rewarded for his efforts with his very own beer!
5 Seasons Brewing in Marietta is releasing a special edition Hunter Hill IPA in honor of the Senator who has helped them and other local breweries attempt to break free from regulations that have rendered them noncompetitive with surrounding states. Expect Hill to return to the State Capitol in 2017 to take another shot at a craft brewers’ bill and ease up on regulations even further from what he accomplished in the past two legislative sessions.
