When a primary is not a primary: Elections that will be decided on May 21

Calling the May 21 general primary election a primary doesn’t hold true for some races: A number of contests will be decided that day — and not at the general election on Nov. 5.

Wait, what? 

When Georgia voters head to the polls, they will have the option to pull a Democratic, Republican or non-partisan ballot. Because Georgia is an ‘open primary’ state, voters can choose to pull any ballot they please — without being registered with either party.

Democratic and Republican ballots include important partisan contests for positions like U.S. Congressmembers, state legislators, county commissioners, sheriffs, and district attorneys. The winners of those party primaries will face each other in the Nov. 5 general election. 

But in counties that heavily favor one party, the primaries will essentially decide the winner of the general election. For instance, the sheriff’s and district attorney’s races in heavily Democratic Fulton County will likely be decided by Democratic primary voters. In the Fulton sheriff’s race, the Democratic incumbent, Pat Labat, is facing three Democratic challengers — but no Republicans. For the Fulton DA’s race, incumbent Fani Willis is facing another Democrat, Christian Wise Smith, and a Republican, Courtney Kramer.

Another example is the DeKalb County CEO race, where there is no Republican contender. Three current county commissioners, all Democrats, are vying to replace CEO Michael Thurmond, who is retiring after eight years in office. That means the winner of the Democratic primary — or a runoff — will secure the position.

Many contests will be decided outright on May 21. 

Primary voters will elect the winners for a number of significant non-partisan races, such as judicial and school board elections. If any candidate secures more than 50% of the vote, they win the contest outright. Otherwise, a runoff will be held between the top two vote-getters four weeks later. 

While the non-partisan races appear on all three ballots, a non-partisan ballot will only feature these contests.

Notably, the Georgia Supreme Court race between incumbent Andrew Pinson and challenger John Barrow will be settled on May 21. Your vote matters in the primary, because many other local nonpartisan races in your county also will be settled next week.

To help you find out about the candidates on your ballot, Atlanta Civic Circle partnered with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution to create the Georgia Decides voter guide. You can use the Build Your Ballot feature to figure out what races are on the Democratic, Republican or non-partisan ballots, based on your address.  You can also assess candidates’ responses to our questions about themselves and their positions. 

Early voting ends this Friday, May 17. During this time, you can vote at any early voting location in your county. Or, vote at your precinct on Election Day next Tuesday, May 21. 

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