Fayette County saw an increase in voter turnout from last year during Tuesday’s general election, according to unofficial results from the Fayette County Board of Elections.
Up from 39.92 percent this time last year, out of 15,421 registered voters in the county 6,866 made it to the polls. The final percentage for the evening: 44.52 percent. This number, according to the board of elections, is up because of the state issues reaching voters.
“The issues facing the voters really seemed to bring them out,” chairman of the board, Judy Craig said. “The voters are impacted by everything on the ballot. Coming out to cast their vote is really the only way that they have to express their opinions and views. Every vote does count. It feels good to see these numbers. I think we got the information out and that the voters really knew what the issues were about this time.”
As important as the state issues are to the residents of Ohio, Fayette County also voted on several important races. A new mayor for Jeffersonville, council members for Bloomingburg and the race for Washington C.H. City Council were among the races that helped to increase these numbers.
“There are 181 provisional ballots, and it is uncertain right now if any of those will have a real impact on any of the races,” Fayette County Board of Elections Director Jamie Brooks, said. “There were some local contests with townships and the city council voters needed to decide on. Those are also reasons the turnout was up. Anytime we have some local races occurring, voters tend to come out to the polls more. It’s your right, obligation and duty to vote. The system works and let us keep on making it work.”
