Presidential Election driving up voter registrations If Paulding voters are any indication, turnout at the polls during the 2016 Presidential Election season may reach record totals.
Paulding County Elections Supervisor Deidre Holden addressed Paulding Commissioners during their regular morning session last week. Leading up to November Paulding Election office staffers are seeing a lot of activity with new registrations, she said.
Total number of registered voters in Paulding County has risen from 93,459 to 97,578, an increase of 4,119 since the May Primary Election, Ms. Holden said. Holden said after the meeting she was hoping to see a turnout of up to 85 percent of registered voters in this election. Compared with the 2012 election, there were 85,923 registered voters, an increase of over 11,000. Holden said that the 2012 turnout was at 80 percent.
Early voting started this week at the Watson Government Complex, Holden said and added that Paulding County satellite locations, Mt. Tabor Park, Poplar Springs Baptist church, and Burnt Hickory Park, will open on Oct. 31 through November 4 and will extend voting hours from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Voter turnout for the Primary Election, according to Holden, was better than expected, though still low, with about 8.29 percent of those registered voting in the July Primary 26th run-off.
Former Post 1 Commissioner David Carmichael defeated runner-up and former Post commissioner Roger Leggett in the run-off. Carmichael, who will be unopposed in the November election, will replace Chairman David Austin in January. 
Other local races were uncontested, and no Democrats were running for local elected positions. Other local races were uncontested, and no Democrats were running for local elected positions.
Local officials unopposed for re-election included Paulding Sheriff Gary Gulledge, Tax Commissioner Bill Watson, Probate Court Judge Deborah Andersen, Superior Court Clerk Treva Shelton, and Magistrate Court Judge Martin Valbuena. 
Paulding Superior Court Judges Tony Beavers and Dean Bucci were unopposed. 

Staff at Paulding County Elections and Registration office at the Watson Government Complex in Dallas were seeing the number of new voter registrations spike last week leading up to the deadline. (Photo: R. Grant)