By early indications, voter turnout for Tuesday’s municipal election may be low.

“Usually we have about 50 absentee voters,” said Cheryl Owens, absentee ballot clerk for the City of

Cedartown. “This year, we’ve only had 25.”

Besides voting absentee, voters can also cast a ballot one week prior to the election through the early voting program. Early voting began Monday, Oct. 31, and runs through Friday, Nov. 4.

If the turnout is low, as predicted, then each candidate will need to work hard to get out their supporters in the final days before the election. Candidates can win or lose these type elections by only a few votes.

Final votes in the election will be cast at the poll on Nov. 8. Goodyear Civic Center, located at 100 Prior St., will serve as the poll for the election as city voters decide who will hold three seats on the city commission for the next four years. There are 3,217 voters eligible to cast ballots the election.

In the election, the seven candidates vying for seats on the city commission include three incumbents, Johnny Barrett, Wilburn Brown, and Bert Wood, and four challengers, Forrest E. McCombs, Larry Odom, Brett Pirkle, and Larry Tolbert. Candidates’ names will appear on the ballot as they are registered to vote. This is a notable change for incumbent Johnny Barrett, whose name will appear as John N. Barrett, and for challengers Brett Pirkle and Larry Tolbert, whose names will appear as Phillip Brett Pirkle and Stephen L. Tolbert respectively.

The poll will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Cedartown’s elections are based on plurality voting, meaning the three candidates with the highest vote totals will win the elections. Candidates do not run against each other or for a specific seat, but simply for a seat on the five-member panel.

This year, three of the seats are up for election. In 2007, the other two seats held by Bobby Alexander and Ray Merritt will be up for election. Municipal elections are held every two years in odd numbered years.

For more information on the candidates positions, see the Questions and Answers of the candidates in the A section of this paper.