With the preparations for Tuesday’s primaries complete, Cherokee County Election Commission Chairman Suzanne Turner said she’ll be sleeping soundly tonight.

It may be a sleepless night, though, for the many candidates on the ballot.

County registered voters will go to the polls Tuesday to pick their party’s nominee for state office, including governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, superintendent of education, treasurer and comptroller general.

Voters also will pick the GOP nominee for House District 33, County Council Districts 2 and 5, coroner, probate judge, and perhaps the most closely watched and contested race, the one for sheriff. That race, as well as the spirited contest for coroner between incumbent Dennis Fowler and challenger Glenn Fuller, will likely boost the turnout for a primary in a non-presidential year, according to Turner.

“I do anticipate a (higher than normal) turnout,” Turner said. “We have everything ready to go. We’re just waiting for Tuesday.”

According to the Cherokee County Voter Registration Office, 29,087 county residents are registered to vote in the primaries. As of last Wednesday, nearly 300 of them had returned absentee ballots while another 100 to 150 absentee ballots had been mailed.

“For a primary, this has been a little busy,” Voter Registration Director Barbara Shackleford said.

The Democrat party primary ballot is much less crowded, with the battle for the nominee for governor, state superintendent of education and U.S. Senate the only races on the ballot.

The Republican Party Primary is as lengthy as roll call vote in the state legislature, with statewide races for governor, lieutenant governor, state treasurer, attorney general, comptroller general and state superintendent of education on the ballot, as well as a high number of high-profile local races.

Turner reminded voters who cast ballots in Tuesday’s primary, they can’t change parties to vote in runoff. However, registered voters who can’t get to the polls on Tuesday, can participate in the runoff.

With so many firsttimers on the ballot, the election commission held training classes, where the do’s and don’ts of election day were discussed. Election laws prohibit political signs and the dissemination of political materials within 200 feet of the polling places.

For those political junkies, Turner said the vote totals will be posted on a Web site. Local radio station, WZZQ, will be at the election commission site to broadcast the results and interview the candidates.

The polls will be open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.