Deadline nears to register for May 21 primary
Several contested races will be decided.
Early voting in the May 21 primary elections will start before the end of the month and all Georgia residents have less than that to be sure they’re registered.
There are a group of competitive local races on the ballot in Polk County, all of which will essentially be decided in the Republican primary. These include two county commissioner seats, two school board seats and coroner.
No Democrats qualified for any of the county positions up for election this cycle so the winners of the primary, or the possible runoff on June 18, will appear alone on the Nov. 5 general election ballot.
April 22 is the last day to register to vote in the primary and nonpartisan elections. Early voting starts April 29, and absentee ballots may be requested now through May 10.
To register, you must be a U.S. citizen and a legal resident of the county in which you wish to vote. People who are at least 17-and-ahalf years of age may register now if they will be at least 18 by the time they vote. Visit the Georgia secretary of state’s My Voter Page online to check your status, update it, register or request an absentee ballot.
Here is a rundown of the major races on May’s ballot:
Polk County Commissioner: The District 1 county commission race has four candidates with former Cedartown City Commissioner Jordan Hubbard, who was appointed by the county commission last month to serve the remainder of Scotty Tillery’s term, up against James Vines, Debbie Connelly, and Michael Gravett.
Vines is a retired senior officer and specialist with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Atlanta, and owner and operator of I&M Properties property management firm. Connelly is a self-employed tax professional who has been a farmer, managing a produce stand and supporting local farmers markets. Gravett recently served as the Polk County Public Works Director.
The District 3 county commission race will see incumbent Ray Carter face two challengers in John Paschal and Billy “Butch” Garrett. Paschal is a retired firefighter and spent nearly 30 years in public safety, while Garrett is a business manager. Carter
was first elected to the board in 2018 as part of a special election.
County commission District 2 incumbent Chuck Thaxton was the only person to qualify for the post, ensuring his third four-year term on the board. All county commission elections are countywide.
Polk County Board of Education:
There will be three new school board members at the start of next year as none of the incumbents qualified to run.
The District 5 race will be decided between two longtime Polk School District educators — Jeff Hawkins and Greg Teems.
Hawkins has been an agriculture and vocational educator at Rockmart High School and is set to retire at the end of May. Teems served as a music education teacher and
director of bands at Rockmart High School before taking on administrative roles with the district prior to his retirement.
The District 6 school board race will be decided between Christina Robinson and Paul “Drew” Williams Jr. Robinson is a mother and administrative assistant, while Williams is a certified real estate appraiser and father.
Retired educator Rita Carter is the lone candidate for the District 3 school board seat currently held by James Foster, who decided not to seek reelection. All board of education elections are countywide.
Polk County Coroner:
Incumbent Norman Smith will face off with challenger Nathan Womack, funeral director at Lester C. Litesey Funeral Home in Cedartown. The election is countywide.
Polk County Surveyor:
Two residents put their name in the hat for county surveyor for this year’s primary — Robert Larry Cannon, of
Rockmart, and Nick Rainey, of Cedartown. Both are professional land surveyors. The election is countywide.
All other countywide races had only the incumbent qualify — Sheriff Johnny Moats, Superior Court Clerk Stacie Baines, Probate Judge Bobby Brooks and Polk County Tax Commissioner Amanda Lindsey.
Also garnering no competition in their respective races were State Rep. Trey Kelley, R-Cedartown, and State Sen. Jason Anavitarte, R-Dallas.
Christy Cook Garner was the lone candidate to qualify for chief magistrate judge and will take over for Jean Crane, who decided not to run. Tallapoosa Judicial Circuit Assistant District Attorney Jaeson Smith was the only candidate to qualify to succeed retiring DA Jack Browning.
All nonpartisan judicial seats will be decided in the May 21 primary. However, no challengers surfaced for
the local incumbents — Superior Court Chief Judge Mark Murphy and Superior Court Judge Andrew Roper.
On the Democratic side, four candidates are running for the 14th Congressional District nomination: Shawn Harris, Joseph Leigh, Clarence Blalock and Deric Houston. The winner will face U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is unopposed in the GOP primary.
Statewide, there are two contested judgeships on the nonpartisan slate, which will be on both the Democratic and Republican ballots. Athens-Clarke attorney John Barrow is challenging incumbent Andrew Pinson for a Georgia Supreme Court seat. An open State Court of Appeals seat will go to either Fulton County attorney Jeff Davis or Tabitha Ponder, a Cobb County judge.