Contested local races scarce in northeast Ga. as election day looms

GAINESVILLE - There are few contested local races on the ballots in the immediate Gainesville area heading into Tuesday's general election.


Of the 13 counties we closely track, there are no contested local county races in six of them, although some contain contested races for state legislative and/or congressional seats. In addition, there are a few alcohol sales questions and another referendum or two scattered about and voters in the City of Dawsonville will elect two new city councilmen.


The counties with no local contested county races are: Banks, Dawson, Hall, Jackson, Lumpkin and White.


Banks County voters will be deciding the fate of a Sunday alcohol by-the-drink question. The same is true in Lumpkin County where a separate question deals with the Sunday sale of beer and wine by retail outlets, such as supermarkets and convenience stories.


White County voters, meanwhile, will be choosing between two candidates for the District 8 seat in the state House of Representatives and deciding on a Freeport Tax Exemption for certain manufactured goods.


There are five people running for the two city council posts in Dawsonville, seeking to replace two former councilmen who resigned earlier this year to run for mayor in a special election to fill the unexpired term of the late Joe Lane Cox.


No local issues or contested county races are on the ballots in Dawson, Hall, and Jackson counties.


In Forsyth County, though his name is not on the ballot, D.T. Smith is running for sheriff as a write-in candidate against Republican Duane Piper in a race to replace Ted Paxton, whom Piper defeated in the GOP Primary this summer.


Of the other counties: there are contested races in Gwinnett for two state legislative seats, court clerk and county school board district 1; in Habersham, two people are vying for the district 1 seat on the county commission; and, in Barrow County, there is a two-man race for sheriff.


Of course, both the Republican and Democratic ballots are headed by the presidential race and two contested races for seats on the state Public Service Commission.


As usual, polls will be open from 7:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m., and anyone in line at closing time will be allowed to vote, but millions of people across the country - more than 20 million at last check - have already voted, taking advantage of early voting which is available in all 50 states this year.


But unlike early and advance voting, when many counties had only one polling place open, several will be open in each county on election day. Check the link below for polling places in Hall County and a link to the Georgia Secretary of State's Office where you will find election information for all 159 counties in the state, including the kinds of required picture ID that are acceptable in order to vote in Georgia.


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