Early voting on for primary election
Early voting in DeKalb County kicked off April 27 and will run through May 15 with voters casting ballots for multiple local and statewide races, including the Democrat and Republican candidates who will face off to become Georgia’s next governor.
In DeKalb County, three board of commissioners’ seats are on the ballot.
For the District 2 seat, incumbent Michelle Long-Spears will face off against challenger Ben Pepper. For the District 3 seat, incumbent Nicole Massiah is being challenged by Tommy Travis, Jakequeline “Jake” Walls, Kenyanna Jones Moore, and Andrea Bass Smith. For the District 7 seat, incumbent LaDena Bolton will face off against challengers Jacqueline Adams and Oneka Willabus.
DeKalb County School District Board of Education (BOE) seats are also on the primary ballot, with District 2 incumbent Whitney McGinniss being challenged by Charlie McAdoo and Ruth Goldstein. District 4 will elect a new member to the BOE with those running including Tracy Brisson, Alison Cundiff, Crew S. Heimer, Jamison Murphy, and Sonja Payne Szubski. District 6 school board member Diijon DaCosta is running unopposed.
For the governor’s race, those vying to become the Democrat nominee include former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and former DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond as well as candidates Olu Brown, Amanda Duffy, Geoff Duncan, Jason Esteves, and Derrick Jackson. Candidates gunning to become the Republican choice include Chris Carr, Clark Dean, Rick Jackson, Burt Jones, Gregg Kirkpatrick, Brad Raffensperger, Tom Williams and Ken Yasger.
Other major statewide races on the primary ballot that will determine the Democrat and Republican nominees for the general election later this year include lieutenant governor, attorney general, state school superintendent, secretary of state, and other positions.
According to the Georgia Secretary of State’s website, the first day of early voting saw record turnout for a midterm primary election, seeing 35,352 Georgians cast their ballot in-person, a 29 percent increase over the 2022 primary election.
To view sample ballots, which list every candidate in every race for the primaries, visit https://dekalbcountyga.gov/departments/voter-registration-and-elections.
Election Day for the primaries is May 19. The results of the primary election will determine the General Primary Election Runoff scheduled for June 16.
Early voting locations
Voters wanting to cast a ballot before Election Day can do so now through May 15 at the following locations:
- Berean Christian Church, 2201 Young Road, Stone Mountain
- Bessie Branham Recreation Center, 2051 Delano Drive NE, Atlanta
- Beulah Missionary Baptist Church, 2340 Clifton Springs Road, Decatur
- Briarwood Recreation Center, 2235 Briarwood Way NE, Atlanta
- Clarkston Library, 951 North Indian Creek Drive, Clarkston
- County Line-Ellenwood Library, 4331 River Road, Ellenwood
- DeKalb Voter Registration and Elections Office, 4380 Memorial Drive, Suite 500, Decatur
- Dunwoody Library, 5339 Chamblee Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody
- Emory University, 1599 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta
- Greater Piney Grove Church, 1879 Glenwood Avenue SE, Atlanta
- Hairston Crossing Library, 4911 Redan Road, Stone Mountain
- Living Grace Lutheran Church, 1812 Cooledge Road, Tucker
- Neighborhood Church, 1561 McLendon Avenue, NE, Atlanta
- New Bethel A.M.E. Church, 8350 Rockbridge Road, Lithonia
- North DeKalb Senior Center, 3393 Malone Drive, Chamblee
- Redan-Trotti Library, 1596 Wellborn Road, Lithonia
- Salem-Panola Library, 5137 Salem Road, Lithonia
- Stonecrest Library, 3123 Klondike Road, Stonecrest
- Tucker Library, 5234 Lavista Road, Tucker
- Wesley Chapel Library, 2861 Wesley Chapel Road, Decatur
Early voting will be held from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. through May 15. Saturday voting on May 2 and May 9 will run from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday voting on May 3 and May 10 will run from noon until 5 p.m.
Absentee ballots can be hand-delivered to the Voter Registration and Elections Office during operating hours or to any early voting location.
Visit dekalbvotes.com or call 404-298-4020 for more information.
