On a drizzly and slightly chilly Monday morning, the elections board is hard at work preparing for the local municipal elections.

Director of the Gordon County Board of Elections and Voter Registration, Shea Hicks swears in three members of the four-member board of elections.

“This is just a precaution,” she says as they all raise their right hands.

The Board of Elections is calibrating the voting machines that will be used in the upcoming mu-nicipal election.

“We are testing for logic and accuracy,” Hicks said. “We want to make sure that when someone punches in their vote for a candidate, that is the exact ballot cast.”

On Monday the board tested machines that are being used for early and advanced voting. There will be 17 machines used in all. The county has a total of 114 machines, but Hicks says the machines are rarely used all at once.

“I think last year was the first time we even came close to using all the machines,” she said.

Early voting will begin on Oct. 12 will continue through Oct. 23. Advanced voting will begin Oct. 26 and continue through Oct. 30.

“We have seen a trend toward advanced voting over the past couple of elections,” Hicks said.

Part of that trend, according to Hicks, is the convenience of early voting.

“They can come into the office and vote, if they are out running errands,” she said. “Also, they usually don’t have to stand in line. A lot of people say it is faster.”

Due to the up tick in early voting, Hicks said the county is looking into combining Election Day precinct.

“We are finding that we really don’t need as many,” she said.

With early voting on the rise, Hicks has also seen less of a demand in mail in absentee ballots.

“We have only had two requests so far,” she said.

The office will begin mailing out absentee ballots on Oct. 13, but people have until Friday Oct. 30 to request to vote by mail.

Mail-in ballot requests can be made by calling 706-629-7781. Those living in Fairmount should call 706-337-5307. The request can also be made by visiting www.gordoncounty.org.

Election Day is Nov. 3. Calhoun residents can vote at the Recreation Department on River Street. Fairmount residents will be voting at the Community Center on Fairmount highway, and Resaca voters will be casting their ballots at the Community and Recreation Center on Walker Street.