Advance voting starts Monday; social distancing guidelines will be followed

Published 12:05 pm Saturday, May 16, 2020

Early voting starts Monday in Georgia for the general primaries, presidential preference primaries and nonpartisan elections that will held on June 9. Whitfield County residents will also vote on a proposed four-year, $66 million Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST).

In Whitfield County, early voting will take place in the elections office in the courthouse from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday (except on Memorial Day) through June 5.

In Murray County, early voting will take place at the Recreation Department at 651 Hyden Tyler Road, Chatsworth, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday (except on Memorial Day) through June 5.

Early voting will take place in both locations on Saturday, May 30, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Elections officials in both counties say social distancing guidelines, such as maintaining 6 feet between individuals in line to vote, will be enforced.

In both counties, all of the contested general primary races will be on the Republican Party ballot. They include:

• Whitfield County Board of Commissioners chairman: incumbent Lynn Laughter and Jevin Jensen.

• Whitfield County Board of Commissioners, District 4: incumbent Greg Jones and Dan Lewallen.

• Whitfield County Clerk of Superior Court: Babs Bailey and April Plott.

• Murray County sole commissioner: incumbent Greg Hogan and Howard Ensley.

• Murray County sheriff: Dakota Boling, Jimmy Davenport, Brian J. Ingle and Wyle Keith Pritchett (Sheriff Gary Langford is not seeking reelection).

• Murray County Board of Education, District 4: incumbent Greg Shoemaker, Hunter Phillips and Greg Spivey.

• Murray County Probate judge: incumbent John Waters and Brett Morrison.

• State House of Representatives, District 11: incumbent Rick Jasperse and Charlotte Williamson.

• State Senate, District 54: incumbent Chuck Payne and Dan McEntire.

• U.S. House of Representatives, District 14: John Barge, Ben Bullock, Kevin Cooke, John Cowan, Clayton Fuller, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Andy Gunther, Bill Hembree and Matt Laughridge. Rep. Tom Graves, who currently holds that seat, announced last year he would not seek reelection.

There will be one nonpartisan race in Whitfield County where incumbent Magistrate Court Judge Rod Weaver faces Wallace Johnson.

In the Republican Party presidential preference primary, President Donald Trump is the only candidate on the ballot.

In the Democratic Party presidential preference primary, U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet; former vice president Joe Biden; billionaire Michael Bloomberg; former South Bend, Indiana, mayor Pete Buttigieg; former congressman John Delaney; U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard; U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar; former Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick; U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders; billionaire Tom Steyer; U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and businessman Andrew Yang are on the ballot. All but Biden have already dropped out or suspended their campaigns.