Only 192 Oconee County voters cast a ballot in the five days of early voting in the Democratic Primary Runoff for District 3 on the state Public Service Commission.
As a result, Democrats are going into election day on Tuesday 50 votes down from the number they had cast in the 16 days of early voting leading up to June 17 Special Election Primary.
Voters in Oconee County and across the state are deciding whether Peter Hubbard or Keisha Sean Waites represents the party in the Nov. 4 election.
Either Hubbard, who works as a clean energy advocate for the Georgia Center for Energy Solutions, or Waites, who served on the Atlanta Council and in the state legislature, will meet incumbent Republican Fitz Johnson.
Johnson has never faced voters before, having been appointed by Gov. Brian Kemp in 2021 to the serve on the Public Service Commission.
The county’s four polling places will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
In the June 17 Special Election Party Primaries, 487 Oconee County Democrats cast a ballot, with 242 of them doing so via early in-person voting. Democrats cast seven ballots absentee by mail, and 238 were cast on the June 17 election day.
County election officials issued only one absentee by mail ballot for the July 15 Runoff, and, as of Friday, that mail ballot had not been returned.
Eligible To Vote
Voters in Georgia do not register by party, and the only voters who are not eligible to vote in the Democratic Party Primary Runoff underway are the 835 voters who used a Republican Ballot in the June 17 primary.
Oconee County has 32,553 Active voters and another 1,960 voters who are Inactive, for a total of 34,513 eligible votes.
That means that the potential turnout in the Democratic Party Primary could be 31,718 (32,553 minus the 835 who cast a Republican ballot on June 17) or 33,678 (34,513 minus the 835 who cast a Republican Ballot on June 17).
By that standard, just more than a half percent of the eligible voters have cast a ballot in the Democratic Party Primary.
The more realistic expectation would be that turnout in the runoff would nearly match the vote in June.
Some Democrats who voted in June would be expected to miss the Runoff, given the short time period between the Primary and the Runoff and the busy summer holiday season.
But Democrats who missed the June 17 Primary for whatever reason might be brought into the runoff to offset the loss of June 17 voters.
At this point, the Democratic vote (192) is 79.3 percent of the count from early voting for the June 17 Primary (242).
Nature Of Race
The five-member Public Service Commission sets the rates charged and the services provided by telecommunications, natural gas, and electric utilities in Georgia and also sets pipeline safety regulations.
Commissioners normally serve for six-year terms, but the winner of the District 3 race will serve only one year before coming up for election again as a result of settlement of a lawsuit over how commissioners are elected and subsequent legislative action setting up the special election this year.
District 3 for the Commission consists of Clayton, DeKalb, and Fulton counties, but voters in Oconee County and throughout the state get to vote to select the District 3 commissioner.
Oconee County is in District 2, which consists of 38 counties from eastern metropolitan Atlanta to the Savannah River and from Hart County in the north to Chatham County in the south. Voters across the state vote in that election as well.
Incumbent Republican Tim Echols from Hoschton won the Republic Party Primary on June 17.
Alicia M. Johnson from Savannah ran unopposed in the Democratic Primary for District 2 on June 17.
The names of Echols and Alicia Johnson as well as of Fitz Johnson and the winner of the July 17 Democratic Party Primary will be on the ballot in November in the only statewide elections.
Voters in Bishop, Bogart, North High Shoals, and Watkinsville could be voting on city races, depending on how many people qualifies in the Aug. 18 to 20 qualifying period.
Both Hubbard and Waites completed a Ballotpedia Candidate survey.
In addition, the Oconee County Democratic Party has created a Public Service Commission Primer that includes links to information about both Hubbard and Waites and provides other links relevant to the race.
The web page also explains the role of and importance of the Public Service Commission.
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