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Early primary voting is underway
Early voting started yesterday for the May 19 primary elections. On the ballot are important races spanning all levels of government, from your county commissioners up to your US senator.
ICYMI: Here’s our rundown of the hotly contested statewide and metro Atlanta races we’re keeping an eye on.
Speaking of county commissioners, I spoke to a couple, Karleen and Eugene James for our Voter Voice this week at a Democratic candidate forum for Fulton County Commission chair. Read on for their thoughts on that race – and here’s our report from the forum. Fulton Democrats Marvin Arrington, Jr. and Mo Ivory are running against incumbentRobb Pitts for commission chair, along with Republican Tiffany Henyard.
When you walk into your polling place to vote, remember that you’ll be asked to choose either a Democratic, Republican, or nonpartisan ballot. Selecting a Democratic or Republican ballot allows you to vote in that party’s primary, plus the nonpartisan elections — namely judicial races.
🔔 If you select a nonpartisan ballot, you will only be voting for judges in your county, plus seats on the Georgia Court of Appeals and Supreme Court.
🔵🔴 If you select a partisan ballot, you will also see several non-binding ballot questions from either the Democratic or Republican Party, which function as polls for each party. WABE has a list of each party’s statewide ballot questions and those for Cobb, DeKalb, Gwinnett, and Fulton Counties.
Also note that for any June 16 runoff elections, you’re locked into voting for the party you choose for the primary ballot. In other words, you can’t vote in the Democratic primary on May 19, and then vote in a Republican primary runoff, or vice-versa.
Reminder: You can vote at any early voting location in your county of residence. To find your early voting polls, select your county on the Georgia Secretary of State’s advance voting location page.
📣 UPCOMING EVENT: Fulton County Jeopardy!
Democracy works best when voters are informed — and we’re making that a little more fun.
ACC is teaming up with Capital B Atlanta to bring you Democracy on the Buzzer, a one-of-a-kind community forum inspired by the classic game show. Candidates for Fulton County Commission Chair will answer prompts on housing, healthcare, the county jail, TADs, and more.
This is your chance to hear directly from the candidates asking for your vote.
🗓️ Wednesday, May 6 | Doors open at 5:30 pm, program begins at 6:30 📍 489 Stephens St SW
‘Contested’ map tool tracks Georgia voters’ primary choices – or lack thereof
The Kenneth Lockett Foundation has launched an interactive map, “Contested,” that shows how many major-party candidates Georgia voters can choose from in primaries for US House and state legislative races.
The mapping tool tracks the number of candidates from each major party for each race to show how contested it is, – and, thus, the degree to which voters have a choice. The nonpartisan Atlanta nonprofit identified 53 uncontested districts, where there’s only one major-party candidate on the ballot. Pretty nifty!
Today: Atlanta Press Club Loudermilk-Young Debates
If you’re still figuring out whom to vote for, the Atlanta Press Club Loudermilk-Young Debates for statewide candidates wrap up today. You can watch the debates on Georgia Public Broadcasting’s website oras well as on the Atlanta Press Club’s YouTube channel.
The Press Club held debates on Sunday and Monday for candidates running for governor, lieutenant governor, US Senate, and US House of Representatives Districts 1, 10, 11, and 13.
Today’s lineup includes Democratic and Republican primary candidates for Georgia Attorney General, Secretary of State, and Public Service Commission. Yours truly will be a panelist for the Georgia Secretary of State debate for Democratic candidates. It will be livestreamed on YouTube from 1:45 pm – 2:45 pm and it will air at 8 pm on GPB.
Wednesday: Atlanta City Council president to host first town hall
Atlanta City Council President Marci Collier Overstreet is hosting her first town hall on Wednesday — which she says is the first-ever to be held by an Atlanta council president. “This town hall is a testament to City Hall meeting residents where they are,” Overstreet said in an announcement. It’s billed as a chance for Atlantans “to engage directly with council leadership and participate in open dialogue about the city issues that matter most to them.”
I’m curious to know what issues are top of mind for Atlantans. Is it tax allocation districts (TADs)? Or firefighter pay? Or whether taxpayers should pay for the council president to have a city vehicle and driver?
Overstreet’s town hall is scheduled for 6 pm on April 29 at the Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurship, located at 504 Fair Street SW.
Friday: May Day actions
May 1 marks May Day or International Worker’s Day, which some say originated on May 1, 1886, when hundreds of thousands of US workers went on strike to demand an eight-hour workday. In some cities, they won their demand, but elsewhere they were met with police violence. In Chicago, clashes between police and striking workers caused deaths on both sides in the Haymarket Square riot.
Here are a couple of May Day actions planned around town:
- May Day March: Workers over Billionaires: 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm on May 1 at the Historic Fourth Ward Park on the corner of Ralph McGill Blvd. & Garden Park Drive. The street address is 700 Ralph McGill Blvd. NE.
- Teamsters May Day Rally at Home Depot HQ: The International Brotherhood of Teamsters are holding a rally for their newly unionized workers at Home Depot subsidiary Temco Logistics. The Teamsters allege Temco is engaging in anti-union tactics, instead of negotiating a contract with the first-ever group of Home Depot workers to unionize. The rally is scheduled for 11:30 am – 1:30 pm on May 1 outside Home Depot’s headquarters, located at 2455 Paces Ferry Road SE.
VOTER VOICES
Karleen and Eugene James
Ages: Karleen, 56, and Eugene, 64
Neighborhood: Summerhill
Occupations: Karleen, real estate broker, and Eugene, housing economist
Political affiliation: Democratic for both
The conversation has been lightly edited for clarity and length.
ACC: What’s your take, after hearing from the Democratic primary candidates for the Fulton Commission chair — incumbent Robb Pitts and challengers Marvin Arrington, Jr. and Mo Ivory?
Karleen: I was really impressed with Mo, because she answered the questions in a way that educated me, as a person who is coming in and not knowing a lot [about what the commission does].
Eugene: There’s been a lot of problems that have been in existence for a long time. Two of them have been there for ten-plus years. You can’t tell me, “When I’m chair, I’m gonna fix it,” if you’ve been there that long.
Something else that I caught today was they’re talking about the [property tax] millage rate, saying “I’m proud that I reduced the millage rate.” I’m like, okay, you reduced the rate, but property values have gone up 70% in the last six years.
Are you planning to vote in the May 19 primary?
Karleen: I always vote, either in person early or in person on Election Day.
Eugene: Yes. But they’re saying you can’t vote by mail now?
[You can still vote by mail, but your county elections office must receive your absentee ballot before polls close on Election Day to be counted. – Ed.]
What are your top issues for the primary?
Karleen: Voter education: It helps us to make better decisions and be better citizens.
Eugene: We’ve got a jail problem — and what I did not know was how many of those beds are taken up by people who committed petty crimes. I have a problem with that. There’s a whole lot of tax dollars being wasted.
Today’s Democracy Digest was written by Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon and edited by Meredith Hobbs. As always, thank you for reading and supporting local journalism. We’re proud that ACC’s election coverage is free for everyone — but it’s not free to produce.
From candidate forums to voter guides to the voter voice you just read, thousands of metro Atlantans count on ACC to help them make informed decisions at the ballot box. Your support keeps that coverage coming — through May 19 and beyond.