Only about 83,000, or 23 percent, of DeKalb’s 347,000 registered voters turned out for Tuesday's primary.
Of that total, about 8,400 DeKalb voters chose to vote early either at advance voting sites, by mail or absentee in recent weeks, records show.
The highest turnout was at the Tucker precinct, which saw 86 percent of those registered to vote there cast ballots. Other high percentages were shown at Lakeside (46 percent) and Austin (40 percent).
Lowest turnouts were recorded at Covington Highway Library, with 5 percent, and Stone Mountain Middle and Stone Mill precincts, each with 9 percent turnout.
Among top races Tuesday were those which determined Democratic and Republican nominees in the 4th Congressional District election Nov. 2.
Incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson and Republican newcomer Liz Carter will square off after each won their parties’ nominations outright.
Johnson, seeking his third term, received 55 percent of the Democratic vote compared to former DeKalb CEO Vernon Jones’ 26 percent and District 7 County Commissioner Connie Stokes’ 19 percent in the three-county district, according to the DeKalb County Department of Voter Registration and Elections.
Johnson, a Lithonia resident, also won handily in the portions of the district in Gwinnett and Rockdale counties, according to the Georgia Secretary of State's office. Most of the district is in DeKalb County.
Ms. Carter, an Atlanta-DeKalb business consultant, had 55 percent of the DeKalb Republican vote compared to Larry Gause’s 23 percent, Victor Armendariz’s 13 percent, and Cory Ruth’s 9 percent. More than 10,400 votes were cast in DeKalb’s Republican District 4 primary. Like Johnson, Ms. Carter saw the same winning percentages in the Gwinnett and Rockdale portions of the district.
Ms. Carter said she felt primary voters looked at the life experiences of the Republican candidates and believed she was the best choice.
“We ran a very positive and clean campaign from the very beginning and stayed on the issues of what really mattered most to the people of District 4, and that’s why I believe we won — and won with the landslide that we did,” she said.
About 45,000 votes were cast in the District 4 Democratic primary in DeKalb where Johnson’s winning percentage mirrored the districtwide total.