Baldwin County went “red” this past Tuesday as all four Republicans in contested races on the ballot Election Day prevailed here. Not all won their races, however.
With 100 percent of the votes counted in unofficial returns, former President Donald Trump defeated Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris by 418 votes, 9,573-9,144, a 2.2 percent margin. The race was as close as most political observers believed it would be, though not quite the narrow margin of 2020, when Joe Biden topped Trump by 1.2 percent, just 237 votes.
In the redrawn House District 149, incumbent Ken Vance carried Baldwin County with 8,420 votes to Democrat Floyd Griffin’s 7,178, an eight-percent margin. However, according to the Elections Division of the Secretary of State’s office, Griffin carried the district by a 12,131 to 9,687 margin, 55.35-44.65 percent.
In what may be considered a slight surprise, Republican challenger Tracy Wheeler easily outpolled eight-term House District 128 incumbent Mack Jackson in Baldwin County, 1,618-1,195, a 15 percent margin. However, according to the Secretary of State’s numbers at just before midnight Tuesday, Jackson won re-election by a mere 47 votes, 13,921-13,874. That is just a 0.16 percent margin, and, according to state regulations, a recount will be authorized.
In the Eighth District U.S. House of Representatives race, incumbent Republican Austin Scott easily defeated challenger Darrius Butler with 68.8 percent of the votes, 218,608 to 99,068. Only a small percentage of votes were not in as of 11:55 p.m. Tuesday.
According to the final unofficial figures released by Probate Judge and Election Superintendent Todd Blackwell, 18,961 registered voters cast ballots in Tuesday’s election, a turnout of 70.9 percent.
Of that total, only 4,585 voters, 17.1 percent of those registered, went to the polling precincts Tuesday.
Actual election day turnout was far less than the totals for early and absentee voting. The returns show that 13,261 cast their ballots early, and 1,115 sent in absentee ballots.
The overall numbers in Baldwin County for this year’s presidential election are very similar to those in 2020. In that election, there were 26,271 registered voters, according to the Voter Registrar’s Office, and 18,353 voted. This year, 18,961 of the 26,743 registered voters cast ballots.
Early voting appears to be growing more popular every election. This year’s 13,261 easily surpassed 2020’s 10,526. Absentee voting, meanwhile, spiked in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The state mailed out absentee ballots to all registered voters, and 4,356 Baldwin County residents sent theirs back, well above the 1,115 that did so this year.
This election marked the last one Blackwell will oversee as elections superintendent. Local legislation was passed this year creating a Baldwin County Board of Elections, and a superintendent of elections will oversee the office.
Blackwell said he isn’t going anywhere.
“I plan on helping where I can to continue to have successful elections,” he commented once the returns were all in. “It’s my community right on, and elections are near and dear to me.”
Blackwell said he hasn’t had time yet to really consider the future without his role in the elections.
“I really haven’t had time to reflect on it. That’ll be something I’ll reflect on after tonight, looking back,” he shared. “Yes, it will be different.
“I’m proud of my office staff and what we’ve done through the years,” the judge continued. “But it will continue to be a success. We’ve had it on a good path in Baldwin County.”
Among those on hand at the government building Tuesday night was a couple from Connecticut, Jon and Carol Schoenhorn. They were in the county on behalf of the Georgia Democratic Party as ballot monitors to “observe that the elections run smoothly, and they clearly do, here at least,” Jon Schoenhorn said.
His wife echoed that evaluation.
“Perfect. It was a well-oiled machine,” was the way Carol Schoenhorn described the day’s voting process. “Judge Blackwell explained everything to us, and it was perfectly in line with the way the elections are supposed to run.”