East Cobb Politics & Elections

Cobb Superior Court Chief Judge re-elected; other local results

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Cobb Superior Court Chief Judge Robert Leonard
Cobb Superior Court Chief Judge Robert Leonard

Following up on some other local races in Cobb County in last week’s elections, beyond our primary focus on East Cobb Cityhood and county and legislative races, were several non-partisan judicial contests.

Chief among them was for a seat on Cobb Superior Court. Chief Judge Robert Leonard had two challengers in attorneys Charles Ford and Matt McMaster. But Leonard eased to re-election by getting 67.8 percent of the vote.

You can check out more local results by clicking here; we’ve summarized the others below.

There will be a runoff on June 21 in another Superior Court race. Sonja Brown received 29 percent of the vote and James Luttrell got nearly 22 percent to forge another round of voting in a field of five candidates.

The winner will succeed retiring Judge Robert Flournoy. Judge Ann Harris won a third term after being unopposed.

Two other Superior Court vacancies have occurred in recent weeks due to retirements. Judge Tain Kell resigned to pursue private practice, and longtime judge Mary Staley also has stepped down.

Their terms end in 2024 and Gov. Brian Kemp will be making appointments to fill out those terms.

Four Cobb State Court judges were unopposed and have been re-elected: Eric Brewton, Jason Fincher, Bridgette Campbell Glover and Ashley Palmer.

Cobb Solicitor General Barry Morgan is not seeking re-election. Courtney Martin Brubaker won the Republican primary unopposed. On the Democratic side, Makia Metzger advanced to the general election with nearly 58 percent of the vote against Chris Lanning.

Cobb Commissioner Keli Gambrill, a first-term Republican from District 1 in North and West Cobb, was unopposed, and has no Democratic opposition in November.

The Cobb Board of Education will have at least two new members after November elections. In Post 6, Democrat Nichelle Davis won unopposed and has no Republican opposition in November. She will succeed first-term Democrat Charisse Davis (no relation), who did not seek re-election.

Post 6, which currently includes the Walton and Wheeler clusters, was redrawn to exclude areas of East Cobb and will consist the Smyrna-Cumberland-Vinings area.

In Post 2, also in the Smyrna area, Democrat Becky Sayler and Republican Stephen George advanced to the November general election. The winner will succeed first-term Democrat Jaha Howard, who failed to reach a runoff for state school superintendent.

In Post 4, which includes the Kell, Lassiter and Sprayberrry clusters, two–term Republican incumbent and current board chairman David Chastain and Democrat Catherine Pozniak ran unopposed in the primaries. They will meet in November.

Three justices on the Georgia Supreme Court were re-elected: Carla McMillian and Shawn Ellen LaGrua, both of whom were unopposed, and Verda Colvin, who got 68.8 percent of the vote in a primary against Veronica Brinson.

Three judges on the Georgia Court of Appeals were re-elected without opposition: Anne Elizabeth Barnes, Chris McFadden and Trea Pipkin.

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East Cobb Cityhood referendum precinct-by-precinct results

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East Cobb Cityhood referendum precinct results
NO precincts are in green, YES in blue. For more map details, click here. Source: Georgia Secretary of State

As we noted Wednesday in a follow-up story on the defeated East Cobb Cityhood referendum, voters in 16 of the 17 precincts overwhelmingly rejected the creation of a city.

The final but official overall tally is 16,290 NO (73.4 percent) to 5,900 YES (26.6 percent), still to be certified by the Cobb Board of Elections and Registration (you can click through the results here).

A total of 22,190 Cityhood votes were cast in all: 13,043 Tuesday, with 7,686 during early voting and 1,461 absentee by mail votes.

In that lone YES precinct—Sope Creek 3, near the Atlanta Country Club and Chattahoochee Plantation where several Cityhood leaders live—that was a narrow YES, 643 to 600 votes, or 51.7 percent to 48.3 percent.

In all the others, NO votes won in a rout, ranging from 85 percent at the Murdock precinct to 65 percent at Mt. Bethel 3.

Cityhood referendums in Lost Mountain and Vinings also were defeated by narrower margins, with 58 percent and 55 percent, respectively, voting NO.

Sixteen of the 22 precincts in Lost Mountain (full results here) voted NO, with the six voting YES located in the most northwestern part of that proposed city, and none with more than 56 percent of the vote.

In Vinings (full results here), all five precincts voted NO, ranging from 51-59 percent.

A cityhood referendum will take place in Mableton in November.

We’ve compiled precinct-by-precinct breakdowns below for the East Cobb referendum. A couple of notes: the totals in the Pope and Sewell Mill 1 precincts are lower than the others because only a portion of those precincts are located in what was the proposed City of East Cobb.

YES NO
Chestnut Ridge 352 1,226
Dickerson 363 1,054
Dodgen 229 810
Eastside 1 433 1,098
Fullers Park 143 496
Hightower 368 1,455
Murdock 161 955
Mt. Bethel 1 599 1,463
Mt. Bethel 3 512 953
Mt. Bethel 4 468 983
Pope 105 402
Roswell 1 326 1,624
Roswell 2 466 1,292
Sewell Mill 1 41 138
Sope Creek 1 344 843
Sope Creek 3 642 600
Timber Ridge 348 898
TOTALS 5,900 16,290

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East Cobb Election results: Cityhood referendum defeated in landslide

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East Cobb 2022 Primary Election Cityhood referendum results
A pro-Cityhood electric sign parked at the former Tokyo Valentino adult store at left; an anti-Cityhood sign in Indian Hills.

UPDATED 2 A.M. WEDNESDAY

With all 17 precincts reporting, the East Cobb Cityhood referendum has been defeated by a 73.4-26.6 percent margin.

The unofficial totals are 16,289 voting NO and 5,900 voting YES.

More details and reaction Wednesday.

UPDATED, 12 A.M. WEDNESDAY

The East Cobb Cityhood referendum is going down in a crushing defeat.

With 70 percent of precincts reporting, NO votes are 13,706, or 72 percent, to 5,218 YES votes, or 27 percent.

That’s been the most lopsided of the three Cobb cityhood referendums on Tuesday’s ballots.

Cityhood votes are trailing with 58 percent of the vote in Lost Mountain having voted NO, (59 percent of precincts reporting); and with 55 percent voting NO in Vinings, (60 percent of precincts reporting).

Real-Time Election Updates:

In the results thus far, all but one of the 17 precincts have voted overwhelmingly against Cityhood, with only Sope Creek 3 (with 52 percent of the vote) favoring incorporation.

Early voting totals were 5,841 votes NO, and 1,844 votes YES.

UPDATED, 11:30 P.M.

With 54 percent of the precincts reporting, NO votes are 8,659, and YES votes are 3,467 in the East Cobb Cityhood referendum. That’s 71.4 percent to 28.6 percent.

The Lost Mountain Cityhood referendum votes have NO leading YES 56-44 percent with 45 percent of precincts reporting, and the Vinings vote is trailing 55-44 with 20 percent of precincts reporting.

UPDATED, 10:30 P.M.

With 23 percent of precincts reporting, NO votes are 3,119, and YES votes are 1,016 in the East Cobb Cityhood referendum.

That’s 75-25 percent.

Only one of 17 precincts is close. In Sope Creek 3, NO votes are at 52 percent; in many others, the NO votes are at 80+ and even 90+ percent.

The results coming in from Cobb Elections in a number of races are painfully slow tonight, and we may not get final decisions until the morning.

UPDATED, 8:55 P.M.

In the East Cobb Cityhood referendum, NO votes are 497, YES votes are 128, roughly 79.5 percent to 20.5 percent, still early voting totals only.

UPDATED, 8:20 P.M.

The first results are trickling in, and “no” votes for the East Cobb Cityhood referendum lead “yes” votes 87-13 percent.

Those are just a few dozen early votes: 99 no, and 15 yes, with more to come before today’s in-person tallies come in.

Cobb Commissioner JoAnn Birrell leads Judy Sarden 75-25 percent in the Republican primary for District 3, also with only a few hundred early votes cast.

Birrell has 481 votes to 156 for Sarden.

In the Lost Mountain cityhood referendum, “no” votes have 851 votes, or 64 percent, to 472 yes votes, or 36 percent.

No results have been reported yet from the Vinings cityhood referendum.

State Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick and State Rep. Sharon Cooper, both Republican incumbents, were easily leading in their primaries.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has been declared the the winner of the Republican primary as he seeks re-election. Former Sen. David Perdue conceded after early results showed Kemp with 73 percent of the vote.

In November, Kemp faces a rematch of the bitter 2018 gubernatorial campaign against Democrat Stacey Abrams.

Former UGA football star Herschel Walker was projected the winner of the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, setting up a November general election against Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock.

ORIGINAL POST, 7 P.M.

The polls have closed in Georgia, and the counting has begun for the 2022 primary elections and the East Cobb Cityhood referendum.

Voters who were in line by 7 p.m. Tuesday will be able to vote.

East Cobb News will continuously update this post all evening with results.

(Here’s our set-up election day post.)

Three-term Cobb commissioner JoAnn Birrell is facing a challenge from first-time candidate Judy Sarden in the Republican primary in District 3, which includes most of East Cobb.

East Cobb legislative incumbents Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick (District 32) and Rep. Sharon Cooper (District 4) have GOP primary challengers in substantially redrawn seats.

There’s a nine-candidate field in the GOP primary for U.S. House District 6, and new representatives will be chosen in State Senate 6 and State House 43.

Two contested non-partisan primaries are taking place for seats on Cobb Superior Court, including one held by incumbent Chief Judge Robert Leonard. The other race includes candidates vying to succeed retiring Judge Robert Flournoy.

In statewide races, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock were facing primary challenges. In the former contest, former U.S. Sen. David Perdue was trailing Kemp among Republican voters. The primary winner will face Democrat Stacey Abrams in November.

In the latter race, the Republican field is led by former UGA football star Herschel Walker. Warnock, elected in 2020 to fill the term of Johnny Isakson, has nominal opposition:

There also are contested Democratic and Republican primaries for lieutenant governor, secretary of state and attorney general.

Typically early voting and absentee figures are tallied first, followed by same-day voting results and more recent absentee votes.

Earlier absentee ballots are expected to be counted rather quickly, as they have been processed to prepare for tabulation when the polls close.

While we await full results, we’ll post early voting and absentee figures as they are revealed.

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East Cobb 2022 Primary Election Day: Cityhood referendum, more

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UPDATED:

For primary election and East Cobb cityhood referendum results, click here.

ORIGINAL POST:

After record-breaking early voting turnout across Georgia, voters are finishing up the 2022 primary elections Tuesday at their home precincts.cobb advance voting, Cobb voter registration deadline, Walton and Dickerson PTSA candidates forum

The polls are open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. Click our election day voters guide for more details about on what’s on the ballot, and how to cast it.

East Cobb News will provide real-time coverage and results on a separate post to be published after the polls close.

In addition to a number of local, state and federal races, voters in a portion of East Cobb will be deciding whether to incorporate a City of East Cobb.

It’s one of three cityhood referendums in Cobb County, along with Lost Mountain and Vinings.

During the final days of the campaign, the Committee for East Cobb Cityhood has sent messages urging voters to “preserve the suburbs in East Cobb” and stop high-density development.

The group’s bogeywoman during the campaign has been Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid.

“The county is changing, like it or not,” according to a Cityhood group e-mail that was sent Sunday.

“Chairwoman Cupid is already working hard to put her plan for Cobb County in place . . . one that promotes higher taxes, more spending, density, and mass transit. Cityhood is a real and effective strategy to put the decision-making for East Cobb in the hands of the people who live here.”

Although it’s pledged to be non-partisan, the Cityhood group blamed federal government policies for the high-density push.

“Closing the housing gap, and manipulating the housing market, is a top priority of the Biden White House,” the e-mail states. “Predictably, President Biden falsely blames state and local zoning laws (i.e., the same ones that preserve and maintain the character of a community) for creating a land shortage that drives lot and property prices to higher levels. Thus, the Democrats’ plan is to incentivize states and localities to buck market forces to increase housing density.”

They’ve also accused the East Cobb Alliance, which opposes cityhood, of being run by Democrats.

In response, the Alliance said it’s “co-led by an even mix of Republicans and Democrats, as a lot of people of all political persuasions are against cityhood for East Cobb.”

The Alliance has used allegations of voter fraud against former State Rep. Matt Dollar in the final days to solicit donations and to urge citizens to vote against the referendum.

Cobb Democratic Party Chairwoman Jackie Bettadapur said Dollar, who resigned his seat in February, illegally voted in the cityhood referendum.

He sold a condo near Parkaire Landing Shopping Center in late February and moved into a home outside the proposed city limits.

But the complaint said the voter affadavit he signed when he voted early—and obtained by the Alliance via an open records request—shows that he listed his Parkaire Landing residence.

The Cobb Elections office has forwarded the complaint to the Georgia Secretary of State’s office to be investigated.

The Alliance also has complained that the pro-Cityhood group hasn’t filed a financial disclosure report. The Cityhood committee says it’s not obligated to do so, but pro-cityhood groups in Lost Mountain, Vinings and Mableton have filed those reports.

Visit our Cityhood tab for more information about the referendum, which will be the last item on the ballot of voters eligible to cast a vote regarding cityhood.

A Republican primary for District 3 on the Cobb Board of Commissioners pits three-term incumbent JoAnn Birrell against political newcomer Judy Sarden. After redistricting, that district includes most of East Cobb.

Several East Cobb-area GOP legislative incumbents also are facing primary challenges: District 32 Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick and State Rep. Sharon Cooper, who has switched from District 43 to District 45.

Gov. Brian Kemp and U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock also are facing challenges in the Republican and Democratic primaries, respectively.

A number of non-partisan judicial elections also are on the ballot; see our previous story on all who’ve qualified.

Voters will have to choose from three separate ballots, samples of which are linked to here:

Absentee ballots must be delivered to designated drop boxes or received by mail at the Cobb Elections office by 7 p.m. Tuesday.

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East Cobb 2022 primary election, cityhood referendum voting info

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East Cobb 2020 primary election, cityhood voting info

UPDATED:

For primary election and East Cobb cityhood referendum results, click here.

ORIGINAL POST:

On Tuesday voters will be going to the polls in the 2022 primary election on a ballot that also includes a cityhood referendum for part of East Cobb.

This post rounds up everything we’ve put together before you head to your precinct—if you haven’t already voted. The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday at all precincts.

If you have an absentee ballot, that must be dropped off at a designated drop box location by 7 p.m. Tuesday. It’s too late to put it in the mail, because all ballots have to be received by Cobb Elections by 7 p.m. in order to be counted.

For voters in East Cobb, there’s a full slate of competitive races at every level—local, state and federal, as well as the cityhood referendum.

Voters in the proposed city of East Cobb (you must live within the boundaries of this map) will vote either for or against incorporating a new municipality of around 60,000 people. Visit our Cityhood tab for more information about the referendum.

It’s one of three Cobb cityhood referendums to be decided on Tuesday, along with Lost Mountain and Vinings.

Voters in East Cobb will have contested primaries in several key races, including District 3 Cobb Commission (Republican), Georgia Senate 6 (Democrat and Republican), Georgia Senate 32 (Republican), Georgia House 43 (Democrat) and Georgia House 45 (Republican.)

A big Republican field also is on the ballot in the 6th Congressional District, and several sitting statewide office holders are being challenged. They include Republican Gov. Brian Kemp and Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock.

A number of non-partisan judicial elections also are on the ballot; see our previous story on all who’ve qualified.

Voters will have to choose from three separate ballots, samples of which are linked to here:

Non-partisan candidates will be included on the party ballots, but no party-specific candidates will be included on non-partisan ballots.

Democratic and Republican voters are being asked non-binding questions on their individual ballots.

The sample ballots above are countywide; to get a sample ballot customized for you, and to check which races you will be able to vote in, click here.

Cobb Elections said 23,990 Democratic ballots, 30,938 Republican ballots and 564 non-partisan ballots were cast in-person during three weeks of advanced voting.

More than 10,000 of those ballots were cast at the East Cobb Government Service Center and nearly 6,500 at the Tim D. Lee Senior Center.

A total of 5,153 absentee ballots have been accepted out of 6,293 returned, and 9,457 issues.

The Cobb Board of Elections and Registration has changed several polling stations Tuesday, including one in the East Cobb area.

The Bells Ferry 3 precinct, which has been located at Noonday Baptist Church, will be moved to Transfiguration Catholic Church (1815 Blackwell Road).

That change is for the primary only; you can check your registration status and precinct location by clicking here.

Voters must present a valid photo identification or a special voter ID card with them to the polls.

Primary runoffs are scheduled for June 21.

For more local information, including absentee voting, voter registration, maps and an elections calendar, visit the Cobb Elections website.

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As East Cobb cityhood referendum nears, recent votes have sputtered

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Recent Ga. cityhood referendums

After the Georgia legislature passed a law in the early 2000s making it easier to create new cities, referendums passed with relative ease.

Sandy Springs voters started off in 2005 by approving a cityhood referendum with nearly 94 percent of the vote.

Similar votes in North Fulton also passed easily, including Johns Creek (88 percent in 2006) and Milton (85 percent, also in 2006).

Those two cities have been referred to often by proponents of East Cobb Cityhood during the campaign that culminates with a referendum on Tuesday.

Dunwoody, Brookhaven and Peachtree Corners also came into being as cities between 2008-2012.

But in recent years, cityhood votes have been faltering.

The three Cobb cityhood referendums on Tuesday’s ballots—including Lost Mountain and Vinings—are the first such votes in Georgia since 2019.

That year, voters in Skidaway Island, near Savannah, rejected cityhood by roughly a 62-38 margin.

Failed referendums in 2018 took place in Eagles Landing (Henry County) and Sharon Springs, which would have created only the second city in Forsyth County.

The latter referendum did get a majority of voters in support, with 54 percent voting yes. But the Sharon Springs charter stipulated that the referendum had to pass with 57 percent of the vote.

Dating back to 2015, in fact, only three cityhood referendums have passed, in Tucker and Stonecrest in DeKalb County and the City of South Fulton, where an initial referendum in 2007 was handily defeated.

The Skidaway referendum is the only cityhood vote to take place outside of metro Atlanta since 2005.

That was in March 2019, as the initial East Cobb cityhood legislation was being introduced, and as that first cityhood group was finally meeting the public.

Before town hall meetings began in East Cobb, Charlie Harper, a Cobb-based political consultant, wondered if the cityhood movement was losing its steam, and specifically its message of promising better government with local control instead of less government.

Those have been the conflicting messages of the Committee for East Cobb Cityhood and the anti-Cityhood East Cobb Alliance, respectively, in what’s become an increasingly bitter campaign.

Harper also thought it was a good time to “re-evaluate the rush to cityhood in many cases. We need to set a higher bar before pitting neighbor against neighbor. There needs to be a clear and consistent reason why we should.”

The cityhood movement picked up in Cobb after Democrats gained control of the Cobb Board of Commissioners and Republican elected officials expressed concern over high-density development in more suburban areas.

The GOP-dominated legislature easily passed the three cityhood bills calling for Tuesday’s referendums, as well as another to take place in November in Mableton.

There has not been a new city in Cobb County for more than 100 years.

Milton City Hall
Milton City Hall opened in 2016, 10 years after a cityhood referendum passed. (ECN file)

While the East Cobb Cityhood group said it was not doing any formal polling, State Sen. John Albers, a North Fulton Republican who carried the East Cobb Cityhood bill in the Senate, said he thinks the vote could go either way.

He has been involved in some of those cityhood referendums in North Fulton, and said those new cities have largely been governed smoothly. (Like East Cobb, Johns Creek and Milton are affluent communities that are providing police and fire services.)

There were initial problems on the Milton City Council due to some personality conflicts that required the help of an industrial psychologist.

But of the last five cityhood votes that were approved, three passed with less than 60 percent of the vote. The exception was Tucker, with 74 percent of the vote.

The following is a summary of the 15 cityhood votes that have taken place since 2005. State Rep. Mitchell Kaye said he requested the information from the House Budget and Research Office.

He was sworn in earlier this week to fill out the rest of the term of Matt Dollar, the chief East Cobb Cityhood bill sponsor.

Kaye said he was initially undecided about cityhood but now is opposed, saying he doesn’t think a City of East Cobb could improve upon current county public safety services.

He said while he was initially pleased at the level of community engagement when the referendum campaign began, he’s troubled by more recent dialogue that has “taken on a more personal tone.

“I hope our community can come together however the vote turns out,” Kaye said.

County Year Vote
Sandy Springs Fulton 2005 Yes, 93%
Johns Creek Fulton 2006 Yes, 88%
Milton Fulton 2006 Yes, 85%
South Fulton Fulton 2007 No, 84%
Chattahoochee Hills Fulton 2007 Yes, 83%
Dunwoody DeKalb 2008 Yes, 81%
Peachtree Corners Gwinnett 2012 Yes, 57%
Brookhaven DeKalb 2012 Yes, 54%
Tucker DeKalb 2015 Yes, 74%
LaVista Hills DeKalb 2015 No, 50.5%
Stonecrest DeKalb 2016 Yes, 56%
South Fulton Fulton 2016 Yes, 59%
Sharon Springs Forsyth 2018 No*
Eagles Landing Henry 2018 No, 56%
Skidaway Island Chatham 2019 No, 62%

(* 54 percent of Sharon Springs voters approved the cityhood referendum, but it failed because “yes” votes needed to cross a 57 percent threshold)

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PHOTOS: State Rep. Mitchell Kaye sworn in at Georgia Capitol

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State Rep. Mitchell Kaye swearing in

Mitchell, Kaye, a Republican from East Cobb who previously served in the Georgia General Assembly, returned to the state capitol Tuesday to be sworn back into office.

He won a special election runoff earlier this month to fill out the remainder of the term vacated by District 46 Georgia House member Matt Dollar, who resigned in February.

Kaye sent along the photos. At top he is sworn in by Georgia Supreme Court Justice John J. Ellington as Kaye’s wife Amy holds their grandsons Caleb and Ari Kaye.

State Rep. Mitchell Kaye swearing in

Kaye is serving through the end of the year. New District 45 boundaries will take effect in 2023 following redistricting.

He did not qualify to run in the May 24 primary. Current District 43 State Rep. Sharon Cooper is running in the new District 45, and is being opposed in the Republican primary by Carminthia Moore.

The winner of the GOP primary will face Democrat Dustin McCormick, whom Kaye defeated in the runoff, in the November general election.

When he served the East Cobb area from 1993-2002, Kaye was the first Jewish Republican elected to the Georgia legislature.

At bottom Kaye poses with (L-R) Ellington, Cooper, Rep. Devan Seabaugh and Rep. Don Parsons, who represent the Marietta and East Cobb areas.

State Rep. Mitchell Kaye swearing in

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After two weeks of Cobb early voting, 25K+ ballots cast

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After the first two weeks of early voting in Cobb in the 2022 primary elections, more than 25,000 ballots have been cast.Georgia runoff elections

Pending totals from Saturday—the last weekend day of early voting—there have been 25,223 in-person votes that have been counted at all locations.

Of those, there have been 15,119 Republican ballots, 9,796 Democratic ballots and 308 non-partisan ballots.

Another 2,455 absentee ballots have been accepted, out of 8,130 issued and 2,536 returned.

In-person turnout has been strong at the two early voting locations in East Cobb.

A total of 5,478 votes have been cast at the East Cobb Government Center, the highest of any location. Of those votes, 3,621 are Republican, 1,757 Democratic and 100 non-partisan.

At the Tim D. Lee Senior Center, there have been 2,076 Republican ballots, 774 Democratic and 14 non-partisan for 2,864 votes.

This week’s turnout was a bit higher than the first week, with more than 12,000 votes cast in person.

In addition to local, state and federal races and cityhood referendums in East Cobb, Lost Mountain and Vinings, voters are being asked non-binding questions on the Democratic and Republican ballots.

The May 24 primaries are being conducted with new boundaries for Congressional, legislative and county and city elected offices, due to redistricting following the 2020 Census.

Cobb Elections is sending out more than 500,000 cards to voters indicating which races they will be able to vote in.

Cobb government said if you don’t get your new card before voting, you can check those races by logging into your “My Voter” page at the Georgia Secretary of State’s website.

The last week of early voting is Monday-Friday, May 16-20 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. There will not be any early voting next Saturday, May 21.

The Cobb Elections office is estimating wait times at each early voting station with an interactive map that can be found here.

Registered voters can vote in advance at any designated location in the county.

Election Day voting in the primaries will take place May 24 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and voters will report to their regular precincts.

Friday was the deadline for requesting absentee ballots. They can be returned via standard mail but must be received at the Cobb Elections office by 7 p.m. May 24, when the polls close.

If you wish to drop off your ballot in person, there are drop boxes at the East Cobb Government Service Center (4400 Lower Roswell Road) and the Tim D. Lee Center (3332 Sandy Plains Road) that will be available during early voting hours only.

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More than 12K ballots cast in first week of Cobb early voting

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Republican voters turned out in strong numbers during the first week of early voting in the 2022 primary elections and cityhood referendums in Cobb County last week.Georgia runoff elections

After the first six days, including last Saturday, Cobb Elections reported that 7,350 voters cast ballots in the GOP primary, and 4,646 in the Democratic primary.

A total of 176 voters chose the non-partisan ballot, which is limited to judicial candidates.

During the primaries voters must choose one of the three ballots.

Here are the sample ballots for each:

The sample ballots above are countywide; to get a sample ballot customized for you, and to check which races you will be able to vote in, click here.

Voters who live in the proposed City of East Cobb will get the referendum on their ballot regardless of which one they choose.

Cobb Elections said that 1,845 Republican ballots were cast at the East Cobb Government Service Center (4400 Lower Roswell Road), while there were 877 Democratic ballots and 58 non-partisan.

At the Tim D. Lee Senior Center (3332 Sandy Plains Road), there were 1,024 Republican ballots during the first week, along with 378 Democratic ballots and 9 non-partisan.

Early voting continues this week at those locations and several others around the county from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Friday and 9-5 Saturday.

The last week of early voting is May 16-20 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The Cobb Elections office is estimating wait times at each early voting station with an interactive map that can be found here.

When you click the information icon in the upper-right corner you’ll find a color-coded legend explaining the wait times and other information.

The wait-time interactive map is periodically updated each day by the poll manager at each location.

If you wish to vote via absentee ballot, you have through Friday to request one, and you can do that by clicking here.

If you wish to drop off your ballot in person, there are drop boxes at the East Cobb Government Service Center and the Tim D. Lee Center that will be available during early voting hours only.

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Former legislator wins special election runoff for East Cobb seat

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Mitch Kaye is returning to the Georgia General Assembly, although not for a legislative session.

A Republican who represented part of East Cobb from 1993-2002, Kaye won a special election runoff Tuesday to fill out the remainder of the term of former State Rep. Matt Dollar.

Kaye will serve out the rest of the year representing the current District 45 after defeating Democratic newcomer Dustin McCormick.

With all 12 precincts fully reporting, Kaye received 2,762 votes, or 56.7 percent, to 2,108 votes for McCormick, or 43.3 percent, according to the Georgia Secretary of State’s office.

While McCormick received more votes during early voting than Kaye (692-520), Kaye benefitted from strong runoff day turnout.

Kaye won all 12 precincts, earning 55 percent or more of the vote in eight precincts. Turnout was 11 percent in a district with nearly 37,000 registered voters.

You can read through details of the voting by clicking here; the results are unofficial until they are certified by the Cobb Board of Elections and Registration.

“The win was a team effort with a lot of hard work from the Cobb GOP to the state GOP along with many old and new friends,” Kaye said.

Kaye and McCormick were the top two finishers in a four-candidate field in the April 5 special election, but neither earned a majority of the votes.

Both opposed East Cobb Cityhood, and made that a focal point of their campaigns.

Kaye, a financial and valuation analyst who has lived in East Cobb for more than 30 years, was the first Jewish Republican elected to the Georgia legislature. He and his wife are members of the Chabad of Cobb synagogue.

During his first stint in the legislature, Kaye was a deputy minority whip when Republicans were in the minority.

He received a legislator of the year award from the Eagle Forum for supporting parental rights in education.

Kaye’s election comes three weeks before primary elections will be decided with new legislative lines. He did not qualify to run in the new District 45 and will step down when his successor is sworn into office in January.

Kaye said that “although there may not be a legislative session, proper representation isn’t just during the 40-day legislative session.

“There is ongoing important work in providing constituent service as well as policy issues to address problems and opportunities our community and state faces.”

A special election was called Feb. 4 when Dollar, who had represented District 45 for two decades, abruptly resigned to take a job with the state’s technical college system.

He made his announcement from the well of the House floor moments after the East Cobb Cityhood bill he sponsored passed in the lower chamber.

McCormick is the only Democrat to qualify for the newly redrawn seat. In November, he will face either State Rep. Sharon Cooper, currently of District 43, or Cobb Republican Party activist Carminthia Moore.

They are vying in the Republican primary that will be decided May 24. Early voting in the primaries and three cityhood referendums, including East Cobb, began Monday and will continue through May 20.

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Cobb early voting map shows wait times for primaries, referendums

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Cobb early voting wait time map
To check the latest wait times, click here.

As was done in the 2020 elections, the Cobb Geographic Information Systems Office and Cobb Elections are teaming up to provide estimated wait times at early voting locations.

The link to the map can be found here; if you click the information icon in the upper-right corner you’ll find a color-coded legend explaining the wait times and other information.

The wait-time interactive map is periodically updated each day by the poll manager at each location.

As noted in our early voting guide, early voting takes place through May 20 at the East Cobb Government Service Center (4400 Lower Roswell Road) and the Tim D. Lee Senior Center (3332 Sandy Plains Road).

The early voting hours are 7-7 Monday-Friday and 9-5 Saturday May 7 and 14.

You can vote early at any early voting location in the county.

Cobb Elections said there was a glitch with some ballots not correctly showing all the races and the various cityhood referendums, including East Cobb, on Monday.

The Georgia Secretary of State’s office didn’t provide Cobb’s latest database to a vendor for polling check-in devices, according to Cobb Elections Director Janine Eveler.

The problem was to have been resolved later Monday, but if you think you have an incorrect ballot, report it to a poll worker.

Once ballots are cast, they cannot be redone.

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Glitch leaves off East Cobb Cityhood referendum on some ballots

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East Cobb Cityhood town hall meeting
Check the interactive map by clicking here to see if you live inside the proposed City of East Cobb.

A voter who lives in the proposed City of East Cobb said that when he went to vote Monday on the first day of early voting, the cityhood referendum wasn’t on his ballot.

Ira Katz said he cast his ballot at the East Cobb Government Service Center around 10:30 a.m., then realized the cityhood question wasn’t on it.

He alerted the manager but said he wouldn’t be allowed to cast another ballot.

Katz told East Cobb News the Cobb Elections office was told about the problem and he in turn was told there was a technical glitch that they hoped to resolve today.

Cobb Elections director Janine Eveler said the problem wasn’t related to a particular item on the ballot, such as cityhood.

After some voters reported not getting the correct ballot, she said her office learned that the Georgia Secretary of State’s office didn’t provide Cobb’s latest database to its vendor for Poll Pad, a device used at precincts to check in voters.

“Therefore the Poll Pad was creating the wrong ballot card for some precincts, based on an earlier version of the database,” Eveler said in a message to East Cobb News.

“We have put a work-around in place where the poll workers are manually bringing up the correct ballot on the BMD, instead of encoding the card on the Poll Pad,” she said.

“It is a little slower, but it will be correct until we get a new download from the vendor. They told us it would be later today and then we will bring replacement Poll Pads to the locations.”

The Cobb County Courier reported that similar issues were taking place regarding the Lost Mountain Cityhood referendum and some other primary races.

“I just wanted to get the word out to people who live in the [proposed] city to check” to see if the referendum is on their ballot before they complete it, Katz said.

Voters who think they have been given an incorrect ballot should report it to a poll worker.

Early voting in referendums for East Cobb, Lost Mountain and Vinings cityhood and the general primaries continues through May 20 at the East Cobb Government Service Center and nine other locations, including the Tim D. Lee Senior Center.

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Ga. House District 45 special election runoff to be decided Tuesday

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Ga. House District 45 special election results

While early voting in the primaries and East Cobb cityhood referendum got underway Monday, voters in a legislative district in East Cobb will go to their home precincts Tuesday to decide a special election.

Eligible voters in the current boundaries of Georgia House District 45 can go their usual polling precincts between 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday during the runoff between Republican Mitchell Kaye (left) and Democrat Dustin McCormick.

They were the top two finishers in the April 5 special election, in which none of the four candidates received a majority of the votes.

The election was called by Gov. Brian Kemp after former State Rep. Matt Dollar resigned in February.

The Cobb Elections office said there are 12 precincts with voters who are eligible to vote in the special election:

  • Chestnut Ridge; Dickerson; Dodgen; Hightower; Murdock; Mt. Bethel 1; Mt. Bethel 3; Pope (portion); Roswell 1; Roswell 2; Sewell Mill 1 (portion); Timber Ridge

Dollar, who served nearly two decades, was the main sponsor of East Cobb cityhood legislation and resigned shortly after the bill passed the Georgia House.

His successor will serve through the end of the year in the current District 45 boundaries.

Kaye, who preceded Dollar in the legislature for a decade, got 42 percent of the vote in the special election, and McCormick got nearly 40 percent.

Both oppose East Cobb Cityhood.

McCormick also is on the primary ballot as the only Democrat to qualify for the new District 45. Current District 43 State Rep. Sharon Cooper and Carminthia Moore are competing in the Republican primary, with the winner to face McCormick in the November general election.

 

Cobb advance voting guide for primaries, Cityhood referendums

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Favorite East Cobb 2020 photos
The East Cobb Government Service Center will once again be an advance voting location.

Starting Monday, Cobb voters will be able to cast in-person votes ahead of the May 24 primaries and three Cityhood referendums, including one in East Cobb.

Advance voting goes from May 2-20 at various locations in the county, including the East Cobb Government Service Center and the Tim D. Lee Senior Center. Voters can vote early at any location in the county, and not just one that’s closest to them.

Voters in East Cobb will have contested primaries in several key races, including District 3 Cobb Commission (Republican), Georgia Senate 6 (Democrat and Republican), Georgia Senate 32 (Republican), Georgia House 43 (Democrat) and Georgia House 45 (Republican.)

We’ve conducted interviews with the candidates in the contested Republican primary for Cobb Commission District 3: Incumbent JoAnn Birrell; and challenger Judy Sarden.

A big Republican field also is on the ballot in the 6th Congressional District, and several sitting statewide office holders are being challenged. They include Republican Gov. Brian Kemp and Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock.

A number of non-partisan judicial elections also are on the ballot; see our previous story on all who’ve qualified.

Voters will have to choose from three separate ballots, samples of which are linked to here:

Non-partisan candidates will be included on the party ballots, but no party-specific candidates will be included on non-partisan ballots.

The sample ballots above are countywide; to get a sample ballot customized for you, and to check which races you will be able to vote in, click here.

The East Cobb Cityhood referendum will be on the ballots of eligible voters who live inside the proposed boundaries; check the interactive map by clicking here. Also visit our Cityhood tab for more information about the referendum.

A photo ID is required to vote in-person and absentee, and you can check which ones are accepted by clicking here.

What follows below is a graphic from Cobb Elections on where, and when, you can vote in-person in advance:

Cobb 2022 Advance Voting schedule

Cobb Elections is providing real-time updates on estimated wait times at the early voting locations and here is the link.

If you wish to vote via absentee ballot, you have through May 13 to request one, and you can do that by clicking here.

Those casting absentee ballots can return them via standard mail, or at a designated dropbox as noted above.

Unlike the 2020 elections, the drop boxes will not be located outside buildings for 24/7 deliveries; following a new state law passed this year, they must be returned inside during opening or voting hours.

All absentee ballots must be returned before the polls close at 7 p.m. on primary election day, May 24.

There also will be a May 3 runoff between Democrat Dustin McCormick and Republican Mitchell Kaye to determine the successor to Matt Dollar, a Republican who resigned his Georgia House seat representing District 45 in February.

The winner will hold office only through the end of the year, the end of Dollar’s term.

McCormick has qualified for the May 24 primary for the redrawn District 45. The Republican primary candidates are current District 43 State Rep. Sharon Cooper and Carminthia Moore.

Voters eligible to cast votes in that race will go to their assigned precincts on Tuesday, and not the early voting locations.

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Candidate profile: JoAnn Birrell, Cobb Commission District 3

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After narrowly winning re-election in 2018, JoAnn Birrell said there was plenty of unfinished business for her to address in her third term as a member of the Cobb Board of Commissioners.Commissioner Birrell recognized

That term, which is coming to an end this year, has been an eventful one for the District 3 commissioner, who’s been at the center of some major zoning and development issues in her area and around the county.

Birrell, who is seeking a fourth term as a Republican and has an opponent in the May 24 primary, said she’s running again because there are other matters to address and because “I want to continue to serve the public.

“There are some things I want to see come to fruition,” said Birrell, including a rebuild of the Gritters Library branch and the construction of a new Cobb Police precinct off Sandy Plains Road that are both underway and a future repurposing of Shaw Park.

She’s also supporting efforts to create a veterans memorial in Cobb and continued pay incentives for public safety personnel.

Birrell’s campaign website can be found here; her GOP opponent, Judy Sarden, was profiled here by East Cobb News.

The winner of the primary will advance to the general election in November against Democrat Christine Triebsch, a former candidate for the Georgia State Senate.

Sarden was critical of Birrell’s votes on the Sprayberry Crossing redevelopment, a residential rezoning on Ebenezer Road and the East Cobb Church rezoning, saying they’re too dense for the area.

Birrell said she’s been working for years to clean up the blighted Sprayberry Crossing, which is finally being demolished for a mixed-use development.

It’s taken time for the previous owner to sell, and for efforts to push public officials to address the situation with a blight tax and other pressures.

Birrell credited residents Joe Glancy and Shane Spink, who spearheaded a citizens’ drive to tear down an eyesore and prompt a redevelopment that’s been touted as transforming the community.

Critics of the project have traffic concerns and didn’t like general apartments initially proposed (and which were dropped due to her opposition).

“Anything that goes there is going to create traffic because it’s been dead for so long,” Birrell said.

Some opponents of the rezoning still insist the senior age-restricted apartments could be converted.

Birrell said county attorneys have told her the latter is not the case; of the 132 planned senior apartments a maximum of 26 could be rented out to younger people due to federal housing law.

Cobb Commission District 3 (2022)
For a larger version of the new District 3 map, click here.

Birrell voted for the East Cobb Church rezoning, which she said initially contained residential plans that were too dense.

That case also was delayed for several months after many revisions.

“I told them to get into compliance with JOSH [a new master plan which outlined maximum residential density of five units an acre], which they did,” Birrell said, referring to a final site plan allowing up to 5.1 units an acre.

She also noted there is nearby residential zoning in a similar RA-6 category that was approved unanimously when the area was in her district.

“I know [opponents] are saying it’s too dense, but it was at five units per acre and it meets the JOSH plan,” Birrell said. “My defense is that they did what we asked them and the district commissioner (Jerica Richardson) supported it.”

The Ebenezer Road rezoning was a straight R-15 (single-family detached residential) and not RA-5, a higher-density proposal that was dropped.

“No way was RA-5 going in there,” said Birrell, adding that the applicant, Pulte Homes, has pulled out of developing the property.

Birrell pointed to her vote against the MarketPlace Terrell Mill project on Powers Ferry Road as an example of rejecting what she said was too much density.

“They want to pin me as high-density,” she said of her critics, “but I’m not. And I can back it up.”

Birrell opposed East Cobb Cityhood when it first came up in 2019, but said she is neutral about the May 24 referendum. The proposed city would be entirely in the new District 3.

“I get that they want local control,” she said of East Cobb Cityhood supporters, who have said that a local commissioner can get outvoted by those not representing the community. “But I don’t think they will have that problem with me.”

She also proposed a code amendment to take away the discretionary power of commissioners on rezoning matters around the Dobbins Air Base Reserve.

A controversial residential rezoning approval last year near the base’s accident potential zone  resulted in a land swap with the county following heated opposition from other elected officials and the Cobb Chamber of Commerce.

Birrell’s code amendment got the votes of fellow Republican Keli Gambrill and Richardson.

“We got the issue resolved, but I went a step further to take it out of the code,” Birrell said.

After reapportionment, the new District 3 is a more Republican stronghold, something she said the current boundaries are not.

Birrell had been part of a 4-1 Republican majority that ended with the 2020 elections. Democrats now have a 3-2 edge.

She said of the current commission—which is all-female as well—that while she’s “keeping my conservative values . . . we really try to work together. There are things we are never going to agree on, but when we can work together, I’m all in.”

Birrell opposed Chairwoman Lisa Cupid’s proposal for a 30-year transit tax that has been dropped, saying anything more than 10 years “is just too long.”

She also is against hiring outside consultants for a proposed Unified Development Code that has drawn some criticism from citizens who think it will lead to more urbanization.

“It should be done in-house,” she said of the Cobb community development staff. “They know Cobb County.”

Birrell said her top budget priority is to continue to build out a pay-and-class salary structure for public safety personnel that started three years ago.

She’s touting her experience and deep relationships across the county to voters as she seeks another term.

“I can get things done,” Birrell said. “I know the county, and I want to continue to serve.”

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Candidate profile: Judy Sarden, Cobb Commission District 3

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Judy Sarden admits that until recently, she “never had aspirations about politics.”Judy Sarden, Cobb commission candidate

A real estate attorney who is a homeschooling advocate, Sarden had been the chief of staff for a county commissioner in Jefferson County, Ala. (Birmingham).

The quest for a more traditional suburban life was behind her family’s move Northeast Cobb from Smyrna several years ago, but she admits now that what’s propelled her to campaign for public office is that she’s “not happy with the direction of the country.”

In qualifying for the May 24 Republican primary for District 3 on the Cobb Board of Commissioners, Sarden said she is “modeling the kind of behavior I want to teach my children.”

And running at the local level as a first-time candidate, Sarden said in an interview with East Cobb News, is as important now as ever.

She’s challenging three-term incumbent commissioner JoAnn Birrell in a redrawn district that includes most of East Cobb.

Sarden’s campaign website can be found by clicking here. East Cobb News also has interviewed Birrell and her campaign profile can be found here.

Early voting begins Monday in the primaries.

The winner of the primary will advance to the general election in November against Democrat Christine Triebsch, a former candidate for the Georgia State Senate.

A former representative for development interests whose husband is a commercial architect, Sarden is critical of some of Birrell’s votes on zoning cases.

“I felt like my background is better-suited for dealing with zoning issues,” said Sarden, who lives with her husband and two children in the Sprayberry High School area.

She jumped quickly into discussing high-profile zoning cases in that vicinity last year, including the Sprayberry Crossing redevelopment, but also a rezoning on Ebenezer Road to turn 50 acres of undeveloped land into 99 homes.

Sarden also pointed to the East Cobb Church rezoning at the Johnson Ferry-Shallowford intersection that she said includes housing that’s too dense for the area.

Cobb Commission District 3 (2022)
For a larger version of the District 3 map, click here.

While all three of those cases had some community support, there also was vocal opposition.

“A lot of people are not happy here and in the JOSH area,” Sarden said. “I’m not happy with it.”

The Ebenezer Road case, she said, is “completely urban-style, pack ‘em in.” The site plan included mail box banks, she said, because there isn’t room in front of every home. (Pulte Homes, which applied for the rezoning, has since pulled out of the project.)

Sarden said Cobb doesn’t require enough of developers to avoid results like that.

As for the Sprayberry Crossing case, while she said she’s glad general apartments were taken out (Birrell wouldn’t support it), Sarden is skeptical that the senior age-restricted units will stay that way.

She also thinks the rezoning decision, which was delayed for months, still lacks sufficient traffic and parking solutions.

“That eyesore needed to go,” Sarden said of the Sprayberry Crossing retail center, “but they needed to flesh out some more details. There were some more things that could have been done.”

Sarden said that while Birrell has been in office for a while, “there appears to be a decided lack of getting into the weeds.”

The focus on zoning and development in Cobb comes as a Democratic-led commission has been in the spotlight in high-density cases around the county.

Sarden referenced statements by Chairwoman Lisa Cupid, who “has made no bones about the feeling that she wants to urbanize. Nobody wants East Cobb to urbanize.”

Some of those decisions, she said, have led to cityhood movements, including East Cobb, which will have a referendum also on May 24.

Sarden said she is neutral on the subject of East Cobb Cityhood, but supports the right of voters “to determine their own destiny.”

Should cityhood votes be approved, she said, “there’s definitely going to be an impact to the county.”

But Sarden thinks Cobb is likely to be in good shape because of a growing tax base (projected for an increase of 10 percent this year).

In addition to zoning votes, Sarden also says she doesn’t think Birrell is doing enough to stand up to the Democratic majority on other issues, including affordable housing.

“She’s at all the photo-op events, but I’ve been talking to a lot of people,” Sarden said. “I’m running as a public servant, not as a politician.”

While Birrell raised extensive campaign funds in her 2018 re-election campaign and easily won the GOP primary, she defeated a first-time Democratic candidate with only 51 percent of the vote in the general election.

Sarden is conducting a grassroots campaign while she homeschools her two children and does some business and homeschooling consulting.

She said she’s not against growth and development in Cobb, but insists that it must follow future land-use maps and master plans, such as was done in the JOSH area before the East Cobb Church case.

But a failure to adhere to those blueprints, she says, is a source of continuing concern.

“If you keep doing a bunch of one-offs, then there’s no cohesion to the county,” Sarden said.

She said Cupid talks about affordable housing and workforce housing “interchangeably. I fear she is going to continue to push this agenda.

“I feel like I will be in a better position to counter this,” Sarden said. “That’s why I’m putting my hat in the ring.

“I’m not afraid to stand up and I’m not concerned with all that politically correct stuff.”

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East Cobb special election runoff early voting gets underway

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Early voting takes place this week for a special election runoff to fill a Georgia House seat in East Cobb.Georgia runoff elections

Republican former legislator Mitchell Kaye and Democrat Dustin McCormick are vying to fill the remainder of former State Rep. Matt Dollar’s seat in District 45 through the end of the year.

The runoff was necessary after a “jungle” special election April 5 in which none of the four candidates got a majority of the vote.

Kaye got nearly 47 percent of the vote and McCormick had 38 percent.

Eligible voters in District 45 can vote in-person from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Friday at the East Cobb Government Service Center (4400 Lower Roswell Road).

The facility also is serving as an absentee ballot dropoff location, also during the hours stated above. The dropbox is located inside the building and will not be available after hours.

Absentee ballots also can be dropped off at the Cobb Elections Office Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 736 Whitlock Ave., Marietta.

There will be no early voting on Saturday; the final day of voting in the special election runoff will be from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 3, at regular precincts.

The current District 45 includes some of East Cobb and a portion of North Fulton.

But the lines for the May 24 primary for the new District 45 will be different.

McCormick has qualified as the only Democrat; the Republican primary candidates are current District 43 State Rep. Sharon Cooper and Carminthia Moore.

Early voting for the primaries in all races in Cobb County starts next Monday, May 2.

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East Cobb Elections Update: How to vote in the May 24 primary

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Editor's Note voting and citizenship

The May 24 primary has taken on additional significance in East Cobb due to the Cityhood referendum that also will be on that ballot.

There will be Democratic and Republican primaries for county, state and federal offices and non-partisan primaries for county and state judicial seats.

(Here’s our previous post summarizing who’s qualified for which offices. Cobb Elections will be posting a countywide sample ballot soon.)

If you’re not registered to vote, you have until April 25 to do so. You can check your registration status by clicking here. To check your registration status, register, or if you have moved, change your registration here.

If you wish to vote via absentee ballot, you have through May 13 to request one, and you can do that by clicking here.

Advance voting will take place for the primaries and the East Cobb Cityhood referendum (see our Cityhood tab for more) from May 2-20 at designated times and locations (see flyer below).

The Cobb Elections office said it also will be providing wait-time estimates at CobbElections.org during the advance voting period. Voters can vote early at any location in the county.

Voters who will be casting their ballots on the May 24 election day will do so at their assigned precincts.

A photo ID is required to vote in-person and absentee, and you can check which ones are accepted by clicking here.

Voters will choose from among Democratic, Republican or non-partisan ballots. Non-partisan candidates will be listed on the party ballots, but no party-affiliated candidates will appear on the non-partisan ballot.

Before the primary, there will be a special election runoff to fill a legislative seat that includes East Cobb and some of Fulton County.

The May 3 runoff between Democrat Dustin McCormick and Republican Mitchell Kaye will determine the successor to Matt Dollar, a Republican who resigned his seat representing District 45 in February.

There will be absentee and advance voting for the runoff. Advance voting will take place at the East Cobb Government Service Center (4400 Lower Roswell Road) on Saturday, April 23, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and from April 25-29 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Absentee voters can drop off their ballots there during those times at a drop box inside the building, as well as at the main Cobb Elections office (736 Whitlock Ave., Marietta) from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday.

The winner will hold the seat only through the end of the year, the end of Dollar’s term.

McCormick has qualified for the May 24 primary for the redrawn District 45. The Republican primary candidates are current District 43 State Rep. Sharon Cooper and Carminthia Moore.

Cobb 2022 Advance Voting schedule

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East Cobb elections update: Runoff in Ga. House District 45

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Ga. House District 45 special election results

UPDATED, 9:51 P.M.:

Republican former legislator Mitch Kaye and Democratic newcomer Dustin McCormick will vie for a Georgia House seat from East Cobb in a May 3 runoff.

In Tuesday’s special “jungle” election, Kaye received 2,272 votes, or 42 percent, to 2,207 votes, or 39.8 percent, with all 12 precincts reporting, according to the Georgia Secretary of State’s office.

Georgia elections law requires a runoff when the leading candidate does not receive a majority of the votes.

Two other candidates, both Republicans, also were running. Pamela Alayon received 733 votes, or 13.67 percent, and Darryl Wilson got 242 votes, or 4.49 percent.

The results are unofficial, but McCormick and Kaye have been leading all evening.

Both have have both come out publicly against East Cobb Cityhood; Dollar has been the chief sponsor of a Cityhood bill that passed the Georgia legislature calling for a May 24 referendum.

The special election was called by Gov. Brian Kemp to determine a successor to former State Rep. Matt Dollar, who resigned on Feb. 1. The winner will fill out the rest of his term this year.

McCormick is the only candidate in the special election who has qualified for the May 24 primary election in the new District 45.

Current State Rep. Sharon Cooper of District 43 and Carminthia Moore have qualified as Republican candidates.

The winner of the November general election will assume office in January, when a new legislative session begins.

ORIGINAL POST:

The polls have closed in a four-way “jungle” special election in Georgia House District 45 in East Cobb, and East Cobb News will be providing updates as they become available.

The Georgia Secretary of State’s office is providing real-time results at this link; as of 7:49 p.m., two candidates appear headed for a May 3 runoff.

Dustin McCormick, the only Democrat, has 1,153 votes, or 46.89 percent, while Mitch Kaye, a Republican former legislator, has 47 votes, or 38.5 percent.

Two other Republicans are in the race: Pamela Alayon, with 268 votes, or 10.9 percent, and Darryl Wilson, who has 91 votes, or 3.7 votes.

Here’s how advance voting went: McCormick 998; Kaye 887; Alayon 233; Wilson 79.

And absentee votes: McCormick 155; Kaye 60; Alayon 35; Kaye 12.

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Legislative special election in East Cobb to be decided

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Early voting has ended in a special election for Georgia House District 45, and final balloting will take place Tuesday.Georgia runoff elections

Eligible voters in the current District 45 boundaries—not the new lines that will be in effect for the May 24 primary—will be able to vote at their normal precincts on Tuesday.

The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Absentee ballots also must be returned by 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Cobb Elections has more information on who is eligible to vote in the special election, what the current District 45 boundaries look like, and how you can check your registration status.

The Cobb Elections office said there are 12 precincts with voters who are eligible to vote in the special election:

  • Chestnut Ridge; Dickerson; Dodgen; Hightower; Murdock; Mt. Bethel 1; Mt. Bethel 3; Pope (portion); Roswell 1; Roswell 2; Sewell Mill 1 (portion); Timber Ridge

As of Thursday, Cobb Elections said 1,861 people have voted in the special election in person. A total of 204 absentee ballots have been accepted.

The “jungle” special election includes three Republican candidates and one Democratic candidate who are vying to fill the remainder of the term of former State Rep. Matt Dollar.

If the leading candidate does not get a majority of the votes, there will be a May 3 runoff.

Dollar, a Republican who had been in office since 2003, resigned Feb. 1, and his successor will serve only through the end of 2022.

The Republican candidates are former State Rep. Mitchell Kaye and Darryl Wilson and Pamela Alayon, both of whom have been involved in Cobb GOP activities.

The Democratic candidate is Dustin McCormick, a project manager at McKesson.

Kaye and McCormick have both come out publicly against East Cobb Cityhood; Dollar has been the chief sponsor of a Cityhood bill that passed the Georgia legislature calling for a May 24 referendum.

McCormick is the only candidate in the special election who has qualified for the primary election in the new District 45. Current State Rep. Sharon Cooper of District 43 and Carminthia Moore have qualified as Republican candidates.

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