Voter turnout is slow for today’s special election with local polling precincts resembling a ghost town in Columbus. Two of the five seats on the Georgia Public Service Commission are on the ballot in the special election Tuesday, November 4, 2025. The Public Service Commission is responsible for setting utility rates. Georgia Power has raised rates multiple times since 2023 with the PSC’s approval.
District 2 incumbent Republican Tim Echols is facing Democratic challenger Alicia Johnson. In District 3 Republican Fitz Johnson will square off against Democrat Peter Hubbard. The candidates are required to live in their district, but the special election is statewide.
One local voter at the Beallwood Baptist precinct weighed in on the low turnout. Jerry Spear said “there wasn’t a whole lot of publicity to inform the public and so I think that’s probably why the low turnout.” Another resident who said he wasn’t voting today and did not want to be identified echoed a similar sentiment saying “I didn’t even know about it. I didn’t hear anything on the radio.”
Nancy Boren, Director of the Muscogee County Elections and Registration said just 6,000 voters cast their ballot in person during early voting. The office issued just over 300 mail absentee ballots.
