Voting starts today
Universal precincts are open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Advance voting starts today for the May 22 primary and nonpartisan elections and runs through May 18.
Locally, the nonpartisan Floyd County Superior Court judge race between attorneys Kay Ann Wetherington and Emily Matson is the only contest.
Statewide, Democrats and Republicans will choose their nominees for the Nov. 6 general election. Each party has two or more candidates vying to run for governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, insurance commissioner, state school superintendent, labor commissioner and the Public Service Commission in charge of regulating utilities.
Rome resident John Barge is seeking to wrest the GOP nomination for school superintendent from incumbent Richard Wood. Barge beat Wood in 2010 and served one term in the position before stepping down for a failed bid for the governor’s seat.
Floyd County Elections Supervisor Willie Green said voters in the primary will have to choose either the Republican or Democratic ballot. The nonpartisan races — which will be decided May 22 — also will be on those ballots. A ballot with only the nonpartisan races also will be available.
The Georgia Democratic Party also is asking several nonbinding ballot questions. The party wants to know its voters’ thoughts on expanding Medicaid, banning bump stocks, investing in mass transit and establishing a nonpartisan panel to draw voting district lines.
Green said registered voters may cast their ballot on weekdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. at either the County Administration Building, 12 E. Fourth Ave., or Garden Lakes Baptist Church, 2200 Redmond Circle. Polls also will be open on one Saturday, May 12.
The Rome Civic Center will be added for the final week of early voting. All 25 precincts will be open on election day.
A pilot program at the administration building will test the EasyVote check-in system, which has the potential to cut time spent waiting for a ballot. The new technology can scan the bar code on state-issued identification cards, eliminating the need for voters to fill out an application.