Voters to decide local, state, national races

ALBANY – The weeks of ads on television and social media, cleaning campaign flyers out of the mailbox, text messages and occasional phone calls pushing political candidates will mercifully come to an end soon.

All that’s left, for those who want to have a voice in representation and who didn’t vote early or by mail, is to get out to the polls on Election Day.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. statewide on Tuesday for the Nov. 3 election. 

Up for grabs are statewide races for governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, commissioner of agriculture, insurance and fire safety commissioner, commissioner of labor and state school superintendent. The two other statewide contests are in Public Service Commission Districts 3 and 5. 

Stay in the know with our free newsletter

Receive stories from Albany straight to your inbox. Delivered weekly.

Your Email Address

Sign Up

Closer to home, Dougherty County voters in County Commission District 6 will decide between incumbent Republican Russell Gray and Democrat Anthony “A.J.” Patterson.

In Lee County, the candidates for County Commission District 1 are Republican Susan Smith and Democrat William Simmons.

In Dougherty County, the advance in-person early voting period was somewhat disappointing, Election Supervisor Ginger Nickerson said. Through Wednesday, 12,008 voters had cast ballots at the Albany Civic Center, which served as the location for the three weeks of early voting.

The last report of registered voters showed 67,049 registered in the county. After more than 1,000 voters showed up each of the first four days, numbers dropped off. During the last weekend ahead of the election, 638 voters cast ballots on Saturday and 424 on Sunday.

“We would like to average at least 2,000 a day,” Nickerson said. “We have enough voters to do that. They would have to come out to make that possible. I wish it was higher.”

Now the election supervisor’s office is preparing for Election Day at the county’s 23 precincts. 

“We just want to encourage citizens to get out and participate in the process,” Nickerson said. 

In addition to early voting, the office had accepted 762 mail-in ballots as of Wednesday.

The Tuesday election offers an opportunity to elect a new governor, as term limits prevent Gov. Brian Kemp from seeking a third term. There also are no incumbents in the races for lieutenant governor, attorney general or secretary of state.

The Public Service Commission races also can have a huge impact on voters’ lives as the body’s responsibilities include setting rates for customers of privately owned utility companies like Georgia Power Co. and for natural gas providers that operate in the state.

Election supervisors recommend that voters utilize the secretary of state’s My Voter Page available at https://mvp.sos.ga.gov/s/.

The online tool provides voters with their precinct locations and sample ballots. Voters can print and fill out those ballots with their choices to carry to the voting machine on election day. Voters are not allowed to use cellphones or tablets. 

Rounding out the selections for voters are contests in Georgia House Districts 151, 152 and 154.

In House District 151, Rep. Mike Cheokas will face both a Democratic opponent, Ethan Wolfe, and independent candidate Travis Lockhart.

Incumbent state Rep. Bill Yearta and Democrat Mitchell Rosa are the candidates in District 152.

Gerald Greene, currently the longest-serving House member in the state, will face former Dougherty County Commissioner Harry James in District 154.