While it’s not much of a surprise, voters in Liberty County have chosen Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican former President Donald Trump as the candidates vying for the White House in November. 

Friday, March 15 is the last day to cure a provisional ballot, as well as the last day for Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act citizens and absentee ballots to arrive. County election officials have until Monday, March 18 to certify each county’s results. The State Elections Division will certify the final results by March 29. 

What’s in a name?

The Current noticed a difference between how the county and the state calculated turnout. The state used the number of “active” voters, while the county used “registered” voters. Liberty County Elections Superintendent Ronda Walthour pointed out that inactive voters “are still eligible to vote if they show up.”

The universe of registered voters contains the smaller galaxy of active voters. A turnout percentage calculated with active voters will be higher than a turnout percentage calculated with registered voters, even though both use the same actual number of voters who cast ballots. They’re two different kinds of turnout, based on two different premises. “Active voters” is a category related to efforts to remove voters from the rolls. 

“Inactive” is not the same as “ineligible”

An “inactive” voter has not been purged from the voter rolls. An inactive voter is someone who has not voted during the last 2 federal election cycles or who has not contacted an elections official in the past 4 years. 

This means that, if a registered voter didn’t cast a ballot in the 2020 Presidential election or the 2022 midterm elections for members of Congress, they could be on the inactive list for 2024 — but they can still vote in the 2024 elections.

Sometimes people forget or don’t know when an election is. Other people might have moved and forgotten to change their address and voter registration. You can still cast your ballot. 

And if there’s some question as to whether you’re voting at the right place after 5 p.m., or if you changed your registration but your name doesn’t appear on the rolls, you have the right to vote a provisional ballot under Georgia law. If you’re at the wrong polling place after 5 p.m., you’ll need to sign an oath that you can’t get to your correct polling place before polls close and the reason why. Election workers will give you a piece of paper with instructions for checking on the status of your provisional ballot. You also will have to go to the county Elections and Registration office to “cure” your ballot by showing your ID. If you don’t cure your provisional ballot by the deadline (usually the Friday after the election), election officials will throw it out.

You can check your voter registration status online, register to vote if you’re a new voter, or change your address if you’ve moved since the last time you voted, on the Georgia Secretary of State’s official My Voter Page at mvp.sos.ga.gov.

Protest votes and the tally

There’s also a slight difference between the total number of ballots cast and the total of votes that all candidates got. For example, 582 votes were cast in the Democratic race, but only 580 votes show in the total.

That difference, Walthour explained, comes from people who cast a blank ballot as a protest vote, or who leave without actually casting their ballot. If that happens, she said, the ballot is “spoiled” and thus not counted. In one case, “We had an elector choose not to vote after proceeding into the BMD (the “ballot marking device” touchscreen) and not vote due to confusion as to when the Sheriff’s race would occur.”

The race for sheriff, other Georgia constitutional offices, and county offices will take place May 21. Early voting will run from April 29 through May 17. The last day to register to vote for those candidates is April 22. Should any candidates advance to a runoff, that will take place on June 18; early voting for the runoff would be June 10-14.

Calculating turnout

Because the number of ballots cast is the same whether the county or the state counts it, but the county and the state calculate turnout using different subsets of voters, the county and state turnout percentages differ.

Liberty County calculated its turnout percentage based on the number of registered voters (43,862). The State Elections Office calculated its turnout percentage using the number of active voters in Liberty County in December 2021 (34,872), according to its Georgia Active Voters Report page. That’s a difference of 9,998 eligible voters.

A separate page on the state site does show how many voters are registered in Liberty County:

Of the county’s 43,862 registered voters, 3,419 cast ballots in Tuesday’s race. That’s a turnout of 7.8%, somewhat lower than the statewide 9% to 10% predicted by Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. 

A check of the Secretary of State’s Election Turnout page at 3 p.m. Wednesday, March 13 showed Liberty County with a 10.1% turnout, based on the number of active voters in December 2021 (33,731) and 3,417 ballots cast. Of those, 1,261 or 3.3% of registered Liberty County voters cast their ballots on Election Day. 

The state’s Election Turnout page also shows 43,741 registered voters in Liberty County, 121 fewer than the county shows.

Turnout by race and ethnicity

Total turnout by race or ethnicity, according to the Secretary of State’s Elections office, was as follows. Note the terms to denote a person’s race or ethnicity are those used on the state’s official website:

  • Black: 1,665 total; 472 voted on Election Day. Of 4,757 active Black voters, 11.3% cast ballots. The state shows 18,269 Black registered voters in Liberty County as of March 13.
  • White: 1,396 total; 629 voted on Election Day. Of 11,536 active White voters, 12.1% cast ballots. The state shows 14,775 White registered voters in Liberty County as of March 13.
  • Other/Unknown: 214 total; 94 voted on Election Day. Of 4,016 active Other/Unknown voters, 5.3% cast ballots. The state shows 5,983 Other/Unknown registered voters in Liberty County as of March 13.
  • Hispanic/Latino: 85 total; 37 voted on Election Day. Of 2,274 active Hispanic/Latino voters, 3.7% cast ballots. The state shows 3,235 Hispanic/Latino registered voters in Liberty County as of March 13.
  • Asian/Pacific Islander: 42 total; 18 voted on Election Day. Of 660 active Asian/Pacific Islander voters, 2.7% cast ballots. The state shows 900 Asian/Pacific Islander registered voters in Liberty County as of March 13.
  • American Indian/Alaska Native: 15 total; 11 voted on Election Day. Of 488 active American Indian/Alaska Native voters, 3.1% cast ballots.The state shows 579 American Indian/Alaska Native registered voters in LIberty County as of March 13.

Turnout by polling place

How many voters showed up at your local polling place? In terms of absolute numbers, the Liberty County Complex saw the heaviest traffic, closely followed by Lyman Hall School and Fleming East. Turnout was lowest at the Performing Arts Center. Considering percentage of turnout, the Riceboro Youth Center had the fourth-lowest number of voters overall but the highest turnout percentage in the county. 

Here’s how many votes were cast at each of Liberty County’s 12 polling places. The county supplied the data and noted the number of registered voters at each precinct:

  • Victory Baptist: 315 of 4,578 registered voters; 63 R, 252 D 
  • Town of Allenhurst: 155 of 2,065 registered voters; 43 R, 112 D
  • Riceboro Youth Center: 174 of 1,106 registered voters; 33 R, 141 D
  • Progressive Church: 227 of 3,277 registered voters; 56 R, 171 D
  • Performing Arts Center: 164 of 4,594 registered voters; 67 R, 97 D
  • Memorial Drive East: 173 of 3,048 registered voters; 44 R, 129 D
  • Lyman Hall School: 378 of 5,421 registered voters; 95 R, 283 D
  • Liberty County Complex: 713 of 5,498 registered voters; 413 R, 300 D
  • Lewis Frasier School: 231 of 2,746 registered voters; 83 R, 148 D
  • Hinesville: 305 of 4,024 registered voters; 151 R, 154 D
  • Gum Branch: 259 of 4,658 registered voters; 157 R, 102 D
  • Fleming East: 325 of 2,847 registered voters; 245 R, 80 D

Turnout by candidate

Of the 1,446 Republican votes cast, Trump took 1,246, with former United Nations Ambassador and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who dropped out of the race on March 6, a distant second at 176 votes.

Among Democratic candidates, Biden took 1,879 of the 1,979 votes cast. New Age spiritual guru Marianne Williamson, who dropped out on February 7, chalked up 44 votes locally, while Congressman Dean Phillips of Minnesota, who dropped out on March 6, got 41.

All election results are unofficial and incomplete until they are certified by the Secretary of State.

The last day to register to vote in the Presidential election and for other federal offices on the ballot is October 7. Early voting will run from October 5 through November 1. Any federal runoff would happen on December 3, if necessary, with early voting to be announced starting sometime between November 25 and 27.

For questions about elections, voter registration, and polling places, contact the Liberty County Elections and Registration Office at (912) 876-3310 or e-mail elections@libertycountyga.com. The office is at 100 Main Street, Suite 1600, in the Historic Liberty County Courthouse.

To update your voter registration if you’ve moved, visit the Georgia Secretary of State’s My Voter Page at mvp.sos.ga.gov.

Type of Story: Explainer

Provides context or background, definition and detail on a specific topic.

Robin is a reporter covering Liberty County for The Current GA. She has decades of experience at CNN, Gambit and was the founder of another nonprofit, The Clayton Crescent. Contact her at robin.kemp@thecurrentga.org Her...