Only a week remains to cast early ballots in the runoff election for the House District 21 representative.

But only a handful of people have taken advantage of early voting so far.

Since early voting began Jan. 16, 68 people have voted early in person, according to Cherokee County Elections Supervisor Janet Munda. A total of 72 people have requested ballots by mail.

Hopefuls Brian Laurens and Scot Turner are vying for the seat in the state House of Representatives. Laurens and Turner were the top two vote-getters in a four-way special election for the seat in January, but neither attained 50 percent of the vote.

The Cherokee County Elections Office on East Main Street in Canton will be open Monday through Friday this upcoming week for early voting. Hours each day are 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Election Day for the runoff will be Feb. 5. There will be no early voting the day before the election.

Only eligible voters living within House District 21 can cast ballots.

House District 21 spans all or part of the following districts: Air Acres, Arnold Mill, Avery, Bridgemill, Hickory Flat, Holly Springs, Liberty, Mountain Road, Teasley, Toonigh and Wildcat.

On Election Day, voters must report to their assigned precincts to cast ballots. Precincts will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Anyone unsure about voting eligibility should check their registration cards, call the county elections office at (770) 479-0407, or visit the Secretary of State’s My Voter Page at mvp.sos.state.ga.us.

Sean Jerguson resigned the House District 21 seat in December to run for state Senate District 21 after then-Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers resigned and accepted a position with Georgia Public Broadcasting.

Jerguson was defeated in the special election by Brandon Beach.