Absentee voting above average so far

Absentee voter turnout in Greene County is above average for a presidential primary and more Democrat ballots have been received.

"Everything is going quite well and the turnout has been good. From the absentee ballot requests that we have it looks like the Democrat numbers are way above the Republican," explained Voter Registration Clerk Margie Cullison.

Currently, 1,137 have voted absentee by mail and machines, she explained. But 773 have been Democrat and 364 have been Republican.

"During the last presidential primary in 2004, we had a total of only 428 absentee votes," she said. "There's been a big increase in absentee votes (this primary) and we've had a lot of people wanting to know what our hours are."

She also expects a big turnout at the polls Tuesday.

Only 28.31 percent of registered voters in Greene County voted in the 2004 presidential primary, she said.

"I'm expecting a much higher percentage this time," Cullison added.

The deadline for mailing in absentee ballots was Monday but people can still vote in the office until noon on Monday, she noted. The voter's registration office will be open until 8 p.m. on Friday and from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday.

Those who still need to vote absentee only have one option left, she explained.

"If they cannot make it in the only other way to absentee vote them is by travel board," Cullison said.

Voting absentee through a travel board is when a member of each party is sent to the voter's home.

"To do that they need to be either confined or have disabilities or be a caretaker," she added.

Currently, all voting equipment is ready to go and voters can look for one change during the May 6 primary.

"We will be having an additional machine at the Roy Clark Building (in Linton)," she said, noting this site to be the polling place for three precincts.

In the past, six machines were available but this year there will be seven.