Voter turnout at expected levels for city elections in Franklin County, light in Hartwell

CARNESVILLE, GA. — The voters are coming out in the four municipalities in Franklin County today and in Hartwell.

Franklin Springs, Royston, Lavonia, and Canon all have city council and mayoral seats up for grabs.

In one of the most talked-about races, as of noon, 100 people turned out to choose a mayor and two city council seats in Franklin Springs. There, incumbent mayor Brian James is running against challenger Lee Moore.

Moore recently lost his bid to stop Emmanuel College students from voting in the Franklin Springs election. Moore said having students from the same campus where his opponent works would give James an unfair advantage. The Franklin County Board of Elections ruled otherwise.

In Royston, those close to the mayoral race between incumbent Bill Stewart and challenger, former city councilman David Jordan say they expect that race to be close.

Two city council seats are also open there.

By noon, county Elections Superintendent Sandy Phillips said 175 voters had cast their ballots.

Two city council seats are open in Lavonia. For Post 1: Incumbent: Don Kennedy is running against challenger Gene Lewis. For Post 2 David Howell, the incumbent is running against Marvin Ross.

Phillips said so far, 140 – 150 voters have cast a ballot in those races.

In the City of Canon, three challengers are vying for two city council seats. So far, 80 people have voted in those races, according to Phillips.

Polls will remain open until 7 p.m. Phillips reminds voters to bring a photo ID with them to their respective city hall when they go to vote. She said several people had no photo ID when they came to vote this morning.

In Hartwell, as of 1 p.m., 295 people had voted in municipal elections, according to Hart County Elections Superintendent Jean Turner.

That’s lighter than she expected given the mayor’s race and the three city council seats that are up for grabs, Turner said.

Hartwell Mayor Matt Beasley chose not to run for re-election, which left his seat open. Former city council members Mike Gordon and teacher Jennifer Sudderuth are vying for that post.

Turner said out of a registered voter population of 2,127 in Hartwell, she only expects about 600 to 700 people to turn out to cast ballots before the polls close tonight./p>