Northampton voter turnout at 40 percent

Published 12:00 am Thursday, November 16, 2006

JACKSON – Voter turnout in Northampton County reached 40 percent last week.

The mark was high for a non-presidential election and was satisfying to Elections Director Tonya B. Pitts.

“I am pleased with the turnout from last week’s election,” Pitts said. “Having 40 percent vote in a non-presidential election is a high turnout.”

In all, 5,461 registered voters in Northampton County cast ballots in the general election.

Of that number, the vast majority (4,678) were Democrats while 368 were Republicans and 415 Unaffiliated.

Though Democrats turned out in high number, they didn’t necessarily vote along party lines. With over 4,500 voting, the Democratic nominees for Northampton County Commissioner got 2,858 and 2,915 votes.

Commissioner-elect Chester Deloatch received the 2,858 votes in his race against Republican Rose Sumner in District Three while incumbent Fannie P. Greene got 2,915 in District Five where she was challenged by Chuck Youse, an unaffiliated candidate.

Commissioner Robert V. Carter, running unopposed, got the most votes with 3,810.

Black and white voters were almost even in the turnout with 2,765 black voters casting ballots and 2,663 white voters. Female voters came out more than males to vote by a count of 3,081 to 2,338.

The election went well, according to Pitts, who said her poll workers did an excellent job.

“I appreciate all of the poll officials for being professional and handling this difficult task well,” Pitts said.

The canvass of the election will occur Friday when the Northampton County Board of Elections reviews 37 provisional ballots.