Early voting ends for Senate runoff

Dec. 3—Five days of early voting has ended for the U.S. Senate runoff between incumbent Democrat Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker.

Turnout across the state set records, including in the Golden Isles where 15,468 people showed up at one of three polling places to cast an early vote.

The one day totals in the Golden Isles as of 6:30 p.m. Friday were 1,121 votes cast at the St. Simons Island polling place, 1,006 at the Ballard polling place and 997 at the main board of elections office in Brunswick.

Unlike earlier in the week when lines dwindled after 6 p.m., all three polling places were open beyond the 7 p.m. time they were scheduled to close. Anyone in line at closing time is allowed to vote.

Christina Redden, assistant supervisor of the Glynn County Board of Elections & Registration, said Friday that another 2,121 absentee ballots were mailed out, and 1,474 had already been returned.

The county has 59,003 registered voters on the active list so it will have to be a very busy day at the polls on Tuesday, the day of the runoff, to approach the more than 57% turnout in the Nov. 8 general election.

The winner of the runoff will have national implications. If Warnock wins reelection, he will give Democrats a 51-seat majority in the senate.

Redden said it's difficult to predict how busy the turnout will be on Tuesday and has heard mixed predictions.

"We've had people say they expect a slow day and some who say it will be unprecedented," she said. "I don't know if it will."

Among those in line Friday were neighbors Frances King and Katie Selph, who have been on earth 99 and 98 years respectively.

Frances King wanted to vote so her grandson, Eric King, and his wife, Miranda, came down from their home in Hiawasee and got the two neighbors to the poll. Both King and Selph are originally from Brantley County.

Frances King remembered in great detail her first vote in her late teens. The Brantley County commissioner wouldn't improve the roads so she and her family went to the polls to vote him out of office, she said.

"We couldn't go to school when the swamps filled up" and flooded the roads, she said.

Miranda King and Annette Coulson helped Frances King out of a truck and King stayed with her as she walked inside with a wheeled walker. Selph didn't need as much help, but Coulson stayed with her.

Selph said she didn't recall her first vote, but said, "I hardly ever miss."

Frances King's 100th birthday is about two weeks away and Selph's 99th is not far behind.

Here are the addresses of all the polling places in Glynn County in Tuesday's election:

—Sterling Elementary, 200 McKenzie Road, Brunswick

—Brookman Community Building, 11 Calvin Way, Brunswick

—Centerpointe Church, 573 Palisade Drive, Brunswick

—Blythe Island Baptist Church, 170 Cut Off Road, Brunswick

—Christian Renewal Church, 6530 Frederica Road, St. Simons Island

—St. William Catholic Church, 2300 Frederica Road, St. Simons Island

—St. Simons First Baptist Church, 729 Ocean Blvd., St. Simons Island

—Jekyll Island Presbyterian Church, 475 Riverview Drive, Jekyll Island

—Sterling Church of God, 6679 New Jesup Hwy.

—Southeast Baptist Association, 2220 Perry Lane Road, Brunswick.

—Golden Isles College & Career Academy, 4404 Glynco Pky.

—C.B. Greer Elementary, 695 Harry Driggers Blvd., Brunswick

—Ballard Community Building, 30 Nimitz Drive, Brunswick

—Northside Baptist Church, 935 Chapel Crossing Road, Brunswick.

—The Chapel, 114 Harris Farm Road, Brunswick.

—College Place Methodist Church, 3890 Altama Ave., Brunswick.

—Howard Coffin Park, 1430 Lanier Blvd., Brunswick.

—Bethel-Evangel Community Church, 801 I St., Brunswick.

—Selden Park, 100 Genoa Martin Drive, Brunswick.

The News' Terry Dickson contributed to this story.