Interest Grows in Upcoming Elections
Interest continues to grow in the upcoming elections, with five men having announced they plan to seek the office of sheriff, and speculation that more may throw their hats in the ring, and lots of talk about other offices.
The Republican and Democratic primaries, as well as non-partisan races will be decided when voters go to the polls on July 31. Qualifying for those races takes place a month from now. Candidates have only from 9 a.m. Wednesday, May 23 until noon Friday, May 25 to qualify with their party. Non-partisan candidates will qualify the same times, in Probate Court.
The only offices that are non-partisan are the Supreme Court justices, Court of Appeals judges, Superior Court judge, Magistrate Judges, and, locally, Probate Court Judge and School Board posts.
School Board Districts 2 and 4 are up for election this year.
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Chairman Phyllis Norwood is the District 2 incumbent and Paul Kelly is the District 4 incumbent. The non-partisan races will be decided July 31 or in the runoff in August. At this time no one has announced in the newspaper an intention to run against the incumbents, nor have they announced their intentions to seek re-election.
For the primaries, voters will have to choose either a Republican ballot or a Democratic ballot. The non-partisan races will be on each ballot. The primaries are to determine the candidates to represent each party in the November 6 general election. Many times voters get confused about having to choose a particular ticket for the primaries. In Georgia, voters do not register by political party, and can choose either ballot for the primary. In the general election in November, voters will select the candidates of their choice, regardless of party.
As soon as the primaries are over, candidates who want to run as independents will have to qualify. To run as an independent, candidates must get the signatures of five percent of the registered voters in their area (county or district, depending on race), based on the last general election. Therefore, the person must have voted in the last general election, and be eligible to vote for the particular candidate in the upcoming general election.
Charles Ledford has already announced he will seek the position of Jasper County Sheriff, and will run as an independent. The other candidates have not said how they are running, but the general thought is that at least one will run as a Democrat and at least one will run as a Republican, therefore assuring a three-way race for sheriff in November.
Another local office that is expected to be contested is that of Tax Commissioner. Long time Tax Commissioner Merry Faulkner is not seeking re-election, and Angie Steele and Angela Walsh have both said they plan to seek the post. Other county-wide offices to be filled include Clerk of Courts, Coroner, and Surveyor.
All five commission posts are up for grabs, under new district lines. Voters will receive voter registration cards before the primary to identify which district they are in and in which precinct they vote. In addition, there have been changes to the Thompson & Barnes district, making it easier for some voters to make it to the polls.
The commission sought local legislation this year to go to staggered terms, and agreed it should be the opposite of the school board to assure interest by some voters in every election. Therefore, commissioners in District 2 and 4 will only have two year terms this time. When they run again in two years, and subsequently, they will serve four year terms.
Jasper County voters will also join those across the nation in November in selecting a president for our country. In addition, they will join those across Congressional District 10 to select a U.S. Representative. That post is currently held by Paul Broun.
State Senator Johnny Grant and Rep. Susan Holmes also face re-election. Rep. Holmes has announced this week that she plans to seek re-election. Sen. Grant has not given an announcement to this paper. Another district post up for grabs is that of district attorney.
