Shortage of ballots delays some voters

Three precincts ran out of ballots Tuesday, Nov. 6, as voters lined up to cast their ballots for the General Election. Everyone was still able to vote, although there may have been a slight delay.

Henry County auditor Shelly Barber said she ordered enough ballots for 90 percent of registered voters, but it's always hard to tell how many people will turn out. The precincts were the Central and Northeast precincts in the morning and the Northwest Precinct in the late afternoon.

Additional ballots were obtained by constituents voting through the handicap voting machines that print its own ballots, it just took a little longer. Barber said she apologizes for the wait.

Some of the electronic pollbooks also ran out of ink, a problem Barber said wouldn't happen again now that the county knows how long the printer cartridges last and how often they need to be replaced. This is the first year the county used electronic pollbooks.

Overall, it was steady at the polls all day Tuesday, Barber said.

'I talked with other people in the state, and they said there's lines everywhere. It was a heavy turnout,” she said.

The county will participate in a postelection audit on Friday at 10 a.m. where the governor's vote will be hand-counted for one precinct.

A total of 7,415 ballots were cast in Henry County and 3,399 absentee votes, compared to 6,779 total votes cast in the 2014 General Election.