Election officials in Dawson County report that a strong voter turnout has continued during the first week of early voting for the Jan. 5 runoff election.

Early voting began on Monday, Dec. 14, and according to Facebook posts by Dawson County Board of Elections and Registration, the first week of advance voting ended with 3,578 votes cast. 

Going into the second week of voting, Board of Elections and Registration Director Glenda Ferguson said that she and her team expect the turnout to remain high. 

“It’s been a little slow initially in the last few days and then it would pick up; we’re hoping that the turnout stays high,” Ferguson said. 

Early voting will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Dec. 21 through Wednesday, Dec. 23 and Monday, Dec. 28 through Thursday, Dec. 31, at the Board of Elections and Registration office. There will be no Saturday early voting sessions for this election, and voting will not be held on the upcoming holiday days. 

“We’ll be closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, but we’ll be open on New Year’s Eve for the full day,” Ferguson said. “We’ve had some questions about being open that Saturday after Christmas, but as of now we won’t be (open); if that changes we’ll let people know, but right now it’s not the case.” 

For those voting with an absentee ballot, ballots can be dropped in the ballot box at the Board of Elections and Registration office. Ferguson said to remember to sign the voter’s oath on the ballot if you’re planning on voting absentee. 

Election Day voting on Jan. 5, 2021, will be held at all three Dawson County polling locations from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

For more information on early voting, call (706) 344-3640 or go to https://www.dawsoncounty.org/elections.