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By: Charlotte Reames

Despite concern over the incurring cost, the West Point City Council voted unanimously to pay for seven days of early voting for the upcoming federal election in November, costing the city $7,000 to the county for election services. 

West Point Mayor Steve Tramell introduced the conversation to the city council during a work session on Tuesday night, adding that the council was on a strict deadline from the Troup County Board of Elections for a decision.

According to Patrick Crews, Troup County Commission Chairman, rather than having the cities do their own elections, they contract with the county’s board of elections to provide that service for them. 

Tramell listed three options for the council; not to offer early voting, to pay $16,000 for three weeks of early voting, or to pay $7,000 for early voting for one week plus the Friday and Saturday before.

“We don’t want anyone to feel like that we are suppressing someone’s vote by not having early voting,” said Sandra Thornton, West Point council member.

In 2020, the city of Hogansville requested early voting services from the county but West Point did not request it in time. Tramell said that in the last election, many Troup County residents went to the Hogansville voting site during early voting to avoid the long lines at the LaGrange voting site at the Government Center. 

There was much discussion from members of the council, who asked if the county would not be able to cover the expenses. Tramell said that the city would be responsible for the cost of operations. 

West Point has never before offered early voting for a federal election; however, the city always offers it for municipal elections. In November, during the most recent municipal election, the city had around 80 voters who took advantage of the extra time. 

Thornton and Council Member Jerry Ledbetter expressed concern with the fact that West Point had to pay the additional cost but the city of LaGrange does not. Because Troup County’s government center is in the county seat, LaGrange, where the board of elections is, it’s the county’s chosen site for early voting. If LaGrange chose to have a polling place somewhere else in the city, then the county would be charged a fee. 

Another consideration that the council members discussed was that a portion of West Point is in Harris County, not Troup County. Residents of the Harris County side of West Point will not have the same opportunity for early voting as the rest. They will need to travel to Hamilton, the Harris County seat, to vote.