This is the last week for to vote early for Georgia's March 6 presidential primary, which could play a part in deciding which Republican contender will face incumbent President Barack Obama in November.

Newton County residents can vote early from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Newton County Board of Elections, 1113 Usher St., Covington; early voting ends March 2.

As of Friday morning, 574 residents had voted in office and 113 had mailed in ballots since early voting began Feb. 13.

Voters don't have to register for a political party in Georgia, but they can only vote in one party's primary for each election. However, if a person votes in the Republican presidential primary, he could still choose to vote in either the Democratic or Republican General Primary on July 31.

President Barack Obama is the only candidate in the Democratic presidential primary, while the Republican ticket in Georgia features Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Jon Hunstman, Gary Johnson, Ron Paul, Rick Perry, Buddy Roemer and Mitt Romney.

The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. March 6. Results will be announced at the Board of Elections that night, though results will not be placed on the county website because they will be available for all counties on the Georgia Secretary of State's website, said Assistant Director Angela Mantle.

Two of the voting precincts changed locations this year. The Oxford precinct moved from the Oxford Community Center to Oxford City Hall, 110 West Clark St., and the Stansells precinct moved from Believer's Fellowship on Christian Circle to Voice of Pentecost, 4648 Salem Road.

Residents can locate their voting precinct by visiting sos.georgia.gov/MVP/ and can also download an application for an absentee ballot. The application can then be mailed, faxed, emailed (as an attachment) or delivered in person to the Board of Elections:
1113 Usher Street, Suite 103; P.O. Box 1274; Covington, GA 30015; Fax: (770) 784-2057; absentee@co.newton.ga.us.

While registration for the presidential primary has ended, voters can still register for the July 31 General Primary until July 2 and the November 6 General Election until Oct. 8.

In the 2008 presidential primary, which had no incumbent, 45.71 percent of Newton's 46,440 registered voters participated. Mike Huckabee received 42.32 percent of the Republican vote, while Obama received 72.96 percent of the Democratic vote.

For the full results from the 2008 presidential primary visit covnews.com.