More than 70 percent of voters in Laurens turn out for election

More than 23,000 Laurens County voters cast ballots during the 2024 General Election.

Overall, 23,459 out of 33,250 registered voters (70.55 percent) voted. In the unofficial breakdown provided Tuesday night, with 15 of 15 precincts reporting, 8,745 voters went to the polls on Election Day, 13,430 took advantage of early voting and 1,284 used absentee by mail. The only results remaining were from 14 provisionals, three “cures,” or corrected absentee or mail-in ballots, and one military federal mail-in ballot. 

People who turned in an absentee ballot by mail without completing the necessary information received a cure letter. Of the three outstanding cures, all of them did not have their birth date on them, said Laurens County Registrar Susan Rooks. 

All results will be certified this Friday. 

For U.S. House of Representative, Rick Allen received 15,739 in Laurens County to Elizabeth Johnson’s 6,929. According to the Georgia Secretary of State’s website, Allen won statewide with 205,676 (60.34 percent), while Johnson picked up 135,209 (39.66 percent). 

State Sen. Larry Walker, who was unopposed, received 19,424 votes for Senate District 20 in Laurens. State Rep. Matt Hatchett, also unopposed, picked up 19,600 for House District 155.

The following Republicans ran unopposed Tuesday after winning their primaries in May: 

Harold McClendon picked up 20,157 votes for Dublin Judicial Circuit district attorney. Darla Brown received 19,240 for tax commissioner. Richard Stanley III picked up 19,906 for coroner, Trae Kemp got 4,584 for county commission District 2 and Gerad Mathis received 4,780 in District 3.

Locally, constitutional Amendment One, on the homestead property tax exemption (13,130 to 8,790) and the statewide referendum Question A about a personal property exemption (12,550 to 9,569) passed, in Laurens County, while Amendment Two, on the tax court, did not (11,095 to 10,573). Statewide, all three questions passed with Amendment One receiving 3,080,071 (62.93 percent) to 1,814,526 (37.07 percent). Amendment Two got 2,513,244 (51.88 percent) to 2,330,806 (48.12 percent) and statewide referendum Question A receiving 3,209,040 (64.49 percent) to 1,766,788 (35.51 percent).