Atlanta municipal elections: Who’s on the ballot in November?
The slate of candidates has been finalized for Atlanta’s municipal elections on Nov. 4, after the candidate qualifying period concluded last Friday.
A total of 59 candidates, including 15 incumbents, are on the ballot in 21 races for mayor, city council president, all 15 city council seats, and the four even-numbered Atlanta Board of Education seats, according to the Atlanta Municipal Clerk’s office. Each paid a qualifying fee last week.
Seven of the 15 city council members are running unopposed, but there are a number of competitive races this year. Catching our eye are school board races in Districts 2, 6, and Seat 8 At-Large.
The race for city council president between current District 11 Councilmember Marci Collier Overstreet and Rohit Malhotra, the founder of Center for Civic Innovation, has already heated up. We’re also watching races for several contested city council seats. Open seats for Districts 2, 7, and 11 have each attracted a crowded field.
Check out our full round-up here.
A note on the Atlanta judges on the ballot
Atlanta voters will also be deciding whether to retain their nine municipal judges in November. What does that mean? Municipal judges are appointed by the mayor, not elected by voters, but during municipal elections, voters can decide to remove any judge who’s served at least one year. That would force the mayor to appoint a replacement.
Basically, you can’t vote for someone you like to become a city judge, but you can vote against a judge you don’t like, in hopes that the mayor will pick someone different.
Here are the nine judges on the Nov. 4 ballot:
- Chief Judge Christopher Ward, appointed in 2012
- Judge Gary Jackson, appointed in 2005
- Judge Crystal Gaines, appointed in 2005
- Judge Terrinee Gundy, appointed in 2013
- Judge JaDawnya Baker, appointed 2015
- Judge Christopher Portis, appointed in 2015
- Judge Ardra Bey, appointed in 2016
- Judge Teresa Mann, appointed in 2021
- Judge Pierce Hand Seitz, appointed in 2024
Today is Special Election Day for Georgia Senate District 21
Tuesday is the last day for voters in North Fulton and Cherokee County to decide who will replace state Sen. Brandon Beach (R-Alpharetta), after the Trump administration tapped him for US Treasurer. There are six Republican and a lone Democratic candidate vying for the open seat, which Beach had held since 2013. Here’s our roundup of the candidates and an election explainer.
Early voting began Aug. 4. So far, 11,800 voters had cast ballots heading into election day, for an 8% turnout rate, according to the Secretary of State’s Office. To find out if you are eligible to vote for the District 21 state senate seat, check the Secretary of State’s My Voter Page. Polls are open today until 7 p.m.
Journalist Mario Guevara sues ICE for unconstitutional imprisonment
Atlanta journalist Mario Guevara last week filed a legal challenge to his 73-day imprisonment (and counting) by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), arguing it is retaliatory, aimed at silencing his reporting about ICE activities, and violates his constitutional rights
The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office handed Guevara over to ICE on June 18, after his June 14 arrest while covering a “No Kings” protest. The Salvadoran national is legally authorized to live and work in the United States, as he awaits a green card.
His unprecedented incarceration has drawn support from the ACLU, the ACLU of Georgia, the University of Georgia Law School’s First Amendment Clinic, and formidable Atlanta criminal defense attorney Don Samuel. They have joined Guevara’s lawyers at Diaz & Gaeta to represent him in a habeas lawsuit challenging his imprisonment.
Ossoff investigation uncovers ICE custody abuses
A shocking report from Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff documents physical and sexual abuse, mistreatment of pregnant women and children, and deaths of people in ICE custody.
Ossoff’s investigation since Jan. 20 also has confirmed credible reports of inadequate medical care, overcrowding, unsanitary living conditions, inadequate food or water, and denial of access to attorneys for people being held at immigration detention facilities across 25 states, Puerto Rico, and at US military bases.
“Obstruction of Congressional oversight by the Department of Homeland Security has been an impediment to site visits and interviews with detainees,” the Democratic senator’s report said. Among the facilities inspected in Georgia are the Federal Correctional Institution, Atlanta and the Stewart Detention Center.
Atlantans rally for science in the wake of CDC shooting
Two Democratic hopefuls for statewide office — state senators Josh McLaurin (D-Sandy Springs) and Jason Esteves (D-Atlanta) — joined a Midtown Atlanta rally last Saturday in solidarity with federal scientists and public health officials. “Science is under attack,” McLaurin said, adding that the Trump administration is attacking science through both “direct illegal firings and impoundment of funds.”
The Sound Science Saves Lives rally came a week after a gunman opened fire on the Centers for Disease Control offices, killing a DeKalb police officer, David Rose. The alleged shooter, Patrick Joseph White, subsequently died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Many rally-goers said they viewed the Aug. 8 shooting spree as a direct outcome of anti-vaccine and anti-science rhetoric from President Donald Trump, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert Kennedy, Jr., and their allies.
Tensions flare at Rep. Nikema Williams town hall
Atlanta Congressmember Nikema Williams held a town hall on Aug. 14 that highlighted national tensions for incumbent Democrats. Several impassioned constituents demanded to know: What are you doing to stop Israel’s war in Gaza? And what are you doing to stop Trump?
Rep. Ro Khanna’s rally draws bevy of anti-establishment progressives
Even though Williams’ 5th Congressional District seat in Atlanta is a lock for Democrats in the 2026 midterms, she is facing a primary challenge from Andres Castro on the progressive left. Other mainstream Democratic incumbents are also attracting primary challengers from their party’s left flank.
That was the leitmotif for California Congressmember Ro Khanna’s Atlanta stop on his Benefits Over Billionaires barnstorming tour last week at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 728 Union Hall. For the crowd of union members, faith leaders and progressive politicos, their anger at the Trump administration was matched by their anger at establishment Democrats’ failure to push back on the Republican agenda and deliver for the working class.
Read our full rally coverage here.
Today’s Democracy Digest newsletter was written by Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon. It was edited by Meredith Hobbs. As always, thank you for reading. Have tips, corrections, or questions? Just reply to this email.
Your donation fuels local journalism. Together, we can continue delivering accurate news and insightful, solutions-oriented stories that matter to you.