Oconee County’s Runoff for Coroner drew few voters. Dr. Quillian-Carr led in the primary vote but lost the Runoff. It is ironic that Quillian-Carr’s vote in the Primary was more than the combined votes of the candidates in the Runoff.

AVOC

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August 11, 2008

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Thoughts-analysis of the results of Oconee’s 08 General Primary and Runoff

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By Wendell Dawson, Editor, AVOC, Inc

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One surprise to many of us was not the fact that Sarah Bell almost defeated Melvin Davis but the fact that Davis pulled ahead with the absentee and advance votes.

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It was surprising that the Absentee Vote went so heavily for Davis. Davis carried few precincts with that kind of margin.   Davis carried Friendship Community, Crystal Hills, by 90 votes and Malcom Bridge by 91.   Otherwise, Sarah Bell carried the precincts or only 2 or 3 votes separated the two in the count.   Bell was only six votes behind after Civic Center (Parkside, Coldwater NWW) came in.

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Most of those Absentees had voted a week or 10 days before Election Day and their votes were minimally influenced by ads in the last two weeks.  Sarah Bell had a good ad in the Athens Banner-Herald on Sunday before the Primary and had some great radio spots.   Unfortunately, they were late in the campaign after many folks had voted.

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When you look at the other BOC races and Absentee results, you can tell Absentees were not pro-development or pro-Melvin Davis.   See Daniell, Horton and Hale who were not supported by the Melvin Davis crowd!

                        ABSENTEES                                     Difference

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The Oconee Leader demonstrated its effectiveness for Ads and its 15,000 distribution list.   Many campaigns used its ads rather than the mailings and flyers of past campaigns.   The Oconee Enterprise has only about 4,000 circulation and most long-time subscribers take it “with a grain of salt”.   Many do not subscribe.  The candidates actively supported by The Oconee Enterprise did not do well.   The Oconee Living Section of the Athens Banner-Herald reaches many citizens who probably do not take the OE and some advertised there.

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Signs do better in the last 2-3 weeks.   Voters become weary of signs all over the roadways and posted for months.   Maybe future candidates will note that signs did not make that much difference in results at the polls.

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Beer and wine and the powers of the county Chairman issues caught some headlines and had some impact.   However, I believe the overriding issues were taxes, spending, fast growth and ethics.

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The internet is playing a bigger part in each election.   More and more folks are relying on email and online news sources and blogs.   Many voters are reached by that method.

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Voting absentee without a reason, early voting and modern voting technology have made voting much more convenient and efficient.   Many of us do not like lines.   I personally have not voted at the polls on Election Day in several years.   More and more voters will exercise these options in the future.   Candidates need to try to reach voters well before the last week.

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Another area that the State could improve on is the elimination of the Runoff System.   Seldom does a Runoff have as many voters as in the regular election.   This can result in a smaller number of voters determining the ultimate winner.   Oconee County’s Runoff for Coroner drew few voters.   Dr. Quillian-Carr led in the primary vote but lost the Runoff.   It is ironic that Quillian-Carr’svote in the Primary was more than the combined votes in the Runoff.   We need to look at a second choice option and let more voters make the decision and save the expense and “wear and tear” of another election.

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RECENT RUNOFFS IN AREA

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8-4-08 Some say runoffs waste time, money

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The Athens Banner-Herald

http://onlineathens.com/stories/080408/election_2008080400241.shtml

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August 4, 2008

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Some say runoffs waste time, money

Runoffs run their course?

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By Blake Aued

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Opening up polling places for Tuesday's runoff could cost Clarke County taxpayers $ 20 per vote.

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The Athens-Clarke government will spend about $ 40,000 for just one race, a runoff for the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination. ……………….. county Elections Supervisor Gail Schrader said.

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With so little interest and so much expense, some election officials want to do away with runoffs. But Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel, who supervises elections statewide, is opposed to such a move.

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"I think it's time to do something, because it's so costly, and you have such a small percentage of voters making decisions that affect the whole county," Barrow County Election Superintendent Kristi Royston said.

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Instead of holding a separate runoff between the top two candidates, Schrader supports instant runoffs.

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There are several variations, but voters generally rank candidates rather than pick only one. If no candidate gets a majority, counters can eliminate candidates who received few top votes, move down to the second choice on those ballots and immediately recalculate the results.

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Royston said she researched runoffs in 2004 and found that Georgia was one of only nine states that still have them. In most states, candidates can win with a plurality rather than a majority, she said.

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Handel does not support instant runoffs and does not believe runoffs waste money, spokesman Matt Carrothers said in an e-mail.

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"Conducting an election and giving voters the opportunity to elect their representatives is never a waste of time or money, be it in a primary, runoff or general election," Carrothers said. "A runoff election is a positive aspect of the overall elections process in our representative republic in which many citizens in a given jurisdiction can qualify to run for office, and the citizens benefit by having several choices."

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It's up to the state legislature, though, to decide how elections are conducted, and state Rep. Keith Heard, D-Athens, said lawmakers should consider instant runoffs.

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Six states have instant runoffs, and several others are considering them, but no one ever has introduced such a bill in Georgia, said political scientist and state Rep. Bob Holmes, D-Atlanta, a former chairman of the House Government Affairs Committee.

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Another option for saving money on elections, Schrader said, is doing away with precincts. If it were legal, Athens-Clarke County could cut costs by opening a handful of voting centers where anyone could vote regardless of where they live, she said……………………

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Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on 080408