Poll workers report high Election Day turnout in north Georgia

Jimmy Long, retired, of Aragon, said he was excited to cast his ballot for Republican Gov. Brian Kemp because of his record on guns and the economy.

“One of the main things is he finally did the gun carry law, and I was really for that,” he said. “And he didn’t shut down in Georgia when the pandemic hit. Things closed, but he got them back before anybody else did.”

But Pamela Carter, a former teacher from Euharlee, said she voted for Democrat Stacey Abrams, also because of Kemp’s record.

“They made a big deal out of how he sent the kids back to school early, but my eight-year-old grandson got COVID. So I don’t think he was very circumspect in that regard. Granted, not going to school was not good. I was a teacher. But I also know that a lot of the teachers they have forced to come back to work have children or older parents at home. So you know, it’s just isn’t the right thing to do.”

Susie Bohannon, who is out of work on disability, said she came out to support Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker, despite the negative ads she has seen opposing him.

“There’s been a lot of bad advertisements on TV about him, but the way I look at it, if he had done all those things, he would be in jail, he wouldn’t be running,” she said. “That’s just ridiculous. But I like him. I think he’s got a good attitude. And I think he deserves a shot to see what he can do for us.”

Wood, who works in the solar industry, said she proudly voted for Abrams and Warnock.

“Abortion is a big one. Just control of the Senate is kind of a big deal right now. “It’s not a lesser of two evils option as far as they go. I actually do like them both. It’s not how I felt in the presidential election, I was very much voting against somebody in the presidential election more than I was voting for somebody. This one, I actually like them.”

Voters from both parties said they were concerned the losing side will not concede, but they were largely confident the results would be accurate.Wayne Scott, a retired veteran who voted for the Democratic candidates, said he’s not concerned about claims of fraud this time.

“Honestly, I think that anyone who thinks that the elections aren’t free and fair, they might be living in a different version of reality,” he said. “After 2020, there were 60-plus federal lawsuits, and not a single one of them produced any kind of evidence that there was any kind of voter fraud out there.”