Months of planning and campaigning for most political candidates came to end on June 6, as voters in Shelby County and across Alabama headed to the polls for the state&8217;s primary elections.

Shelby County polling places saw over 30,000 voters pass through during the 12-hour election period &8212; a number Shelby County probate judge Patricia Fuhrmeister said was more than pre-election predictions.

&8220;There were definitely more than I expected,&8221; Fuhrmeister said. &8220;But anytime you have a governor&8217;s race on the ticket, as well as a number of big local races, you&8217;re sure to see a rise in voter turnout.&8221;

A total of 29,237 votes were cast in the county on Republican ballots (86 percent), while 4,640 Democratic ballots were submitted (14 percent).

A large number of undervotes, or, races that were left blank on a ballot, were cast in the county – especially in local races.

Over 4,000 undervotes were cast in the Shelby County superintendent race, while the race for the State Republican Executive Committee, Place No. 3 had the most local blank submissions with 9,729.

But Fuhrmeister said that can be a normal occurrence when there are so many state-wide races above the local races.

&8220;Undervotes are pretty typical the further down a ballot you get,&8221; she said. &8220;As far as the superintendent race goes, a number of Shelby County residents reside within the Hoover school system and likely did not vote in the race despite it being on their ballots.&8221;

In the end, seven runoff election were necessary in the Republican primaries, while all Democratic primaries were decided.

In local primaries:

-Tom Ferguson and Randy Fuller are headed to a runoff on July 18 for the Shelby County superintendent of schools position, with the candidates garnering 35 and 39 percent of the vote, respectively. Gary Minnick finished third in the race with 26 percent of the vote.

-State Senator Hank Erwin held on to seat 14 in the Alabama Senate despite losing the Shelby County vote to challenger Jon Parker by nearly four percentange points. Erwin defeated Parker with 56 percent of the total vote across four counties.

-Shelby County Sheriff Chris Curry soundly defeated Republican challenger Jim Walters, netting 77 percent of the total vote. Curry will face Democratic challenger Charlie Loyd Sr. in the general election in November.

-Mary Sue McClurkin defeated Benny Bliss in the Alabama House of Representatives, District 43 race with 74 percent of the vote.

-J. Gregory Canfield and Della Fancher will face each other in a runoff for the District 48 seat in the House, with the candidates earning 37 and 26 percent of votes, respectively.

-Shelby County Circuit clerk Mary Harris easily defeated challenger Stephanie Freeman Roulier, earning 82 percent of the votes.

-Diana Hawkins defeated Sherwood Florence for the Shelby County Coroner job, garnering 60 percent of votes.

-Lee Doebler defeated Frank May in the Shelby County School Board, Place 1 race with 62 percent of votes.

-Steve Martin will face democratic candidate Clovia Wheeler in the general election for the Shelby County School Board, Place 2 position after he defeated Bragan Baldwin Patterson in the primary with 74 percent of the vote.

All ballot counts were unofficial as of yesterday morning pending certification that Fuhrmeister said would likely take place this Friday