patching...
Welcome back, Patch Blogger!

Martin Valbuena

Friday, August 24, 2012

Valbuena Retains After Recount

A recount made after certification of Tuesday’s election results did not change the results of the magistrate judge race.

Eight votes remained the difference Friday in a race solely decided by Paulding voters. Tuesday’s unofficial results had showed that county voters in the runoff for magistrate judge favored incumbent Martin Valbuena over challenger Dan Collins by a vote of 2,979 to 2,971. Officials with the Paulding County Elections & Voter Registration office gathered Friday to certify election results, and while the totals changed slightly, the result did not—Valbuena’s eight-vote lead remained in place, with the vote going 2,980 to 2,972 in his favor. Both candidates were present at the elections office when a recount took place just after certification of the results. “[Collins] came in at 12 when we certified, and gave us a letter requesting the …

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Runoff Sees Significant Drop Compared to Primary

Tuesday’s election saw 6,235 county voters cast ballots.

Just over a third of the number of Paulding voters who took part in the July 31 primary election cast ballots in Tuesday’s runoff that determined the winners of three races that impacted the county. After last week’s five-day early and advance voting period and Tuesday’s election day, unofficial results showed that 6,235 of the county’s 74,867 registered voters had cast ballots—a turnout of 8.3 percent. The July 31 primary had stronger participation with 17,854 voters casting ballots, putting its turnout at 23.9 percent. Deidre Holden, supervisor of Paulding County Elections & Voter Registration, said no problems with voting were reported at any of the county’s 14 precincts. No voters remained in line at any of the precincts when the polls…

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Eight Votes Determine Paulding’s Magistrate Race

Incumbent Martin Valbuena retains after squeaking by challenger Dan Collins.

In a county that saw 6,235 of its voters cast ballots, it was eight votes that made the difference in one race. Paulding voters favored incumbent Martin Valbuena by one of the slimmest of margins in Tuesday’s runoff of magistrate judge. After falling short of the 50-percent mark he needed to pass in last month’s primary election, Valbuena on Tuesday earned the favor of 2,979 voters, giving him 50.07 percent of the votes cast. Challenger Dan Collins earned 2,971 votes but led for much of the evening as precinct results came in one by one. Deidre Holden, supervisor of Paulding County Elections & Voter Registration, reported that the county only had two provisional ballots after Tuesday’s votes were tabulated—not enough to swing the election …

Live: Paulding County Election Results

Three races are set to be decided by today's runoff elections. Dallas-Hiram Patch will bring you live results as soon as we get them.

The polls closed at 7 p.m. In a few hours, we should know the winners of three races that impact Paulding. Countywide, voters had the chance to weigh in on Paulding's chief magistrate race, which saw Dan Collins challenging incumbent Martin Valbuena after the latter took 47.1 percent of the vote in the July 31 primary—not enough to stave off a runoff. Collins had the second-highest vote total among Valbuena's three challengers, which put him in the runoff. Two other races that should be settled tonight impact only portions of the county. The first has State Sen. Bill Heath facing a challenge from Bill Carruth. Voters in Paulding, Haralson and Polk counties will help determine the winner, who will be set to take office in January as no …

Patch_comments_icon

Jon Gargis

1:47 am on Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Hey Bryan, I missed your comment earlier in the evening. We had results come in just after 7 until about 9 p.m. We were using a service called ScribbleLive to live blog the results. If you were on a mobile phone, you may not have seen the live blog.   more ›

Three Races To Be Decided Today

All of Paulding County’s polling places will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for today’s runoff election.

Today is county voters’ last chance to weigh in on unfinished business in the Republican primary. Three offices that impact Paulding County will have their contests decided by runoffs. They are: The winners of the chief magistrate and Senate District 31 races will be set to take office in January, as no Democrats nor independent candidates qualified to run. The winner of the House District 66 contest will move on to face Kimberly Alexander, a Democrat from Dallas, in November’s general election. All Paulding County polling precincts will be open today from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voters eligible to cast ballots in the runoff will have to visit their usual polling place to vote. Only those county voters who cast Republican or nonpartisan ballots …

Friday, August 17, 2012

Early Voting for Runoff Ends at 5 p.m.

Today is Paulding County voters’ last opportunity for early and advance voting ahead of Tuesday’s runoff election. The polls open at 8 a.m.

Those hoping to get their votes in before Tuesday’s election day for the primary runoffs have until the end of this business day to cast their ballot. Today is the last day for early and advance voting, and those who don’t make it to the polls by the end of the day will have to find time on Tuesday if they wish to make their votes count in the races in a runoff. The polls at the Paulding County Elections & Voter Registration office in the Watson Government Complex in Dallas will close at 5 p.m. All Paulding County polling precincts will be open on Aug. 21 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voters eligible to cast ballots in the runoff will have to visit their usual polling place to vote. Only those county voters who cast Republican or nonpartisan …

Got a Hot Tip?
 
 

Videos