After months of campaigning, the May 22 general primary, nonpartisan general election and special elections are almost here.
Advance voting has ended, meaning all that remains is the voting on Tuesday.
“We look forward to a busy election day,” said Barbara Luth, the county’s supervisor of voter registrations and elections.
Below is some information voters may find useful heading into the primary.
Advance voting
Advance voting for the race wrapped up on Friday after three weeks, and a total of 11,132 local residents voted between Monday, April 30 and Thursday, including one day of Saturday voting on May 12.
Luth said due to the proposed new city of Sharon Springs, Sharon Springs Park was the most popular place to vote, with 5,146 of advance voters, or about 46 percent, casting ballots at the location.
The most popular day to vote was Friday, with a total of 2,524 voters at all four advance voting locations.
“I’m really happy [with the turnout,]” Luth said. “We knew it would be busy at Sharon Springs, and we had hoped that a lot of people would come to our [new] office, and we kind of stayed busy here, so that was good because we are a new site at our new office. And the other ones kept up with us too.”
The ballot
Tuesday’s ballot will have Republican and Democratic candidates for state, local and federal seats, non-partisan elections for judges and a countywide special election for a $295 million bond for Forsyth County Schools.
If approved, the bond will fund four new schools, new school technology, improved facilities and safety measures in the coming years.
Perhaps the most contentious local issue on the ballot is the proposed city of Sharon Springs in south Forsyth. Only those living in the boundary of the proposed city can vote.
The approximate boundaries of the proposed city are east of Ga. 400 except the portion west of McFarland Road, south of Hwy. 20 except for areas in the city of Cumming, west of the Chattahoochee River — already a boundary with Gwinnett County — and north of the Fulton County line.
Unlike other races, the city will need the support of at least 57.5 percent of voters, a compromise between a simple majority and two-thirds majority, to pass.
The following local races and issues will be contested on the ballot.
· The proposed city of Sharon Springs
· Forsyth County School’s Bond
· Republican candidate District 1 Commission: Molly Cooper and Dooz Owings
· Republican candidate District 1 Board of Education: Mark Weiss and Wes McCall
· Judge, State Court of Forsyth County: Incumbent Leslie Abernathy-Maddox and John Rife
· Republican candidate District 9 state Representative: Incumbent Kevin Tanner and Mark Hajduk
· Republican candidate District 24 state Representative: Incumbent Sheri Gilligan and Joanna Cloud
· Republican candidate District 25 state Representative: Incumbent Todd Jones and Steven Grambergs
· Republican candidate District 27 state Senator: Bill Fielder, Greg Dolezal and Brian Tam
· Republican candidate District 7 U.S. Representative: Incumbent Rob Woodall and Shane Hazel
· Democratic candidate District 7 U.S. Representative: Carolyn Bourdeaux, David Kim, Ethan Pham, Kathleen Allen, Melissa Davis and Steve Reilly
· Democratic candidate District 9 U.S. Representative: Dave Cooper and Josh McCall
Where to vote
All local precincts will be open for the race, and voters must go to their designated precinct, unlike advance voting which allowed voting at any location. Voting will be held 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
“Voters need to remember to bring their photo ID,” Luth said.
It should be noted that the Browns Bridge and Chestatee precincts have moved from their previous locations to Central Park Recreation Center at 2300 Keith Bridge Road.
Voters can find their precinct online at the voter registrations and elections department page at Forsythco.com or MVP.sos.ga.gov or by calling the department at (770) 781-2118.
Voting will be held at the following precincts and locations:
· Precinct 1- Big Creek: First Redeemer Church, 2100 Peachtree Parkway
· Precinct 2- Brandywine: Calvary Chapel, 200 James Road
· Precinct 3- Browns Bridge: Central Park Recreation Center, 2300 Keith Bridge Road
· Precinct 4- Chestatee: Central Park Recreation Center, 2300 Keith Bridge Road
· Precinct 5- Coal Mountain: Coal Mountain Park Community Building, 3560 Settingdown Road
· Precinct 6- Crossroads: Hampton Park Library, 5345 Settingdown Road
· Precinct 7- Cumming: Cumming City Hall,100 Main Street
· Precinct 8- Mashburn: Lanier United Methodist Church, 1979 Buford Highway
· Precinct 10- Midway: Midway Park Community Building, 5100 Post Road
· Precinct 15-Heardsville: Sawnee Mountain Park Community Building, 3995 Watson Road
· Precinct 16- Otwell: First Baptist, 1597 Sawnee Drive
· Precinct 19- Old Atlanta: Olde Atlanta Clubhouse, 5745 Olde Atlanta Parkway
· Precinct 21- South Forsyth: Sharon Springs Park Community Building, 1950 Sharon Road
· Precinct 25- Windermere: Windermere Lodge, 4444 Front Nine Drive
· Precinct 27- Concord: Concord Baptist Church, 6905 Concord Road
· Precinct 29- Polo: Grace Chapel Church Of Christ, 6755 Majors Road
What’s next
After Tuesday, voters will have party candidates for some, but not all, races.
For primaries in which no candidate receives at least 50 percent of the vote plus one vote, a runoff will be held on July 24. Those who vote in the Republican and Democratic primaries must vote for the same party in the runoff.
“If you voted Republican in the primary, you have to vote Republican in the runoff. Democrats have to vote Democrat,” Luth said. “If you voted non-partisan in the primary, you can vote for either Republican or Democrat, or if you didn’t vote in the primary, you still have the option to vote for either party.
Once the runoff has concluded, the general election will be held on Nov. 6, with runoffs for general and special elections on Dec. 4 and runoffs for federal races on Jan. 8, 2019.
Both the runoff and general election are planned to have the same advance voting schedule as the primary.