East Cobb Politics & Elections

Cobb to add Sunday early voting in 2022 general election

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Cobb Elections Board 2022 general elections early voting dates

Over protests from poll workers and conservative activists, the Cobb Board of Elections on Monday voted to allow one Sunday of early voting in the 2022 general election.

After hearing lengthy public comments both for and against the measure, the five-member board voted to have early voting on Sunday, Oct. 30, from 12-4 p.m. at the Cobb Elections new office on Roswell Street.

The motion also included providing signage at the former offices on Whitlock Avenue to direct voters to the new location, which opened last week near the Big Chicken.

Cobb 2022 general election early voting schedule
For a larger view, click here.

The vote was 4-1, and moments later, a woman who shouted disapproval was asked to be removed from the meeting room.

“I’ve said it many times,” said Tori Silas, the chairwoman of the elections board, “we’re not going to do that.”

Cobb Elections Director Janine Eveler proposed a three-week early voting schedule (at right) that runs from Oct. 17-Nov. 4 and includes the East Cobb Government Service Center and the Tim D. Lee Senior Center.

Election Day is Nov. 8.

Georgia’s elections law that was passed last year allows for up to two Sundays of early voting, at the discretion of county elections boards.

Proponents of Sunday voting say it will give them flexibility with work travel schedules and caregiving roles.

Cobb resident Lisa Thomas cited both in urging the board to adopt Sunday voting. Sunday is one of the few days of the week her husband, who travels frequently out of the country on business, is home “and there are no meetings.”

She’s also a caregiver for her mother in law, and needs someone to watch her while she votes.

Salleigh Grubbs, Cobb GOP chairwoman
Salleigh Grubbs, Cobb GOP chairwoman, said Sunday voting caters to the agenda of Fair Fight and “the extreme radical left.”

But Cobb resident Bill Allen, who’s been a poll worker, said via a virtual comment period that “there’s ample time to vote” in advance and that “Sunday voting is not necessary.”

He said Cobb Elections is already understaffed and he adamantly said he would not work on Sunday.

Claudia Falk, an area supervisor for Cobb Elections who’s hired and recruited poll workers, said staffing early voting has become a “nightmare” and expanding those hours would be “a bigger nightmare.”

“We’re all tired, we’re all stressed,” she said during the public comment period. “We need to step back and give ourselves time to build strong teams to ensure the integrity and honesty of the elections process.”

Eveler showed slides indicating that Sunday early voting in Fulton and Gwinnett counties had the lowest figures of any days of the week.

“With our reduced number of resources, we need to put those resources where you can take advantage of the most voters,” Eveler said.

She was asked by Silas to provide information on the possibility of Sunday voting at the main location. Eveler said a total of 38 poll workers would be required, costing the county $4,765 in personnel costs.

Cobb elections board chairwoman Tori Silas
Cobb elections board chairwoman Tori Silas

Eveler proposed extending existing early Saturday hours, but the motion that the board passed did not include that option.

Sunday voting is a priority of Fair Fight Georgia, a voting access political action committee created by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams.

What it calls its “gold standards of early voting” also includes 7-days a week voting from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and expanded early voting locations.

Some speakers spoke in favor of those measures, including Lisa Cunningham, a Democrat who’s running for a Georgia House seat in North Cobb, who advocates 17 early voting spots.

The Cobb elections board adopted Eveler’s request to have 13 early voting locations, as well as the 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekday schedule and 8 a.m. to  5 p.m. hours on two Saturdays.

Salleigh Grubbs, the head of the Cobb Republican Party, said that “Cobb is a target of Fair Fight and the extreme radical left” and “if you vote for Sunday voting” and expand early voting locations, “you’re showing your allegiance for Fair Fight.”

East Cobb resident Debbie Fisher, echoed those comments, saying Fair Fight interests have been pushing for Sunday voting in Cobb when it wasn’t being proposed.

“It’s not a legitimate request,” she said.

But the board’s vice chairwoman, Jessica Brooks, an appointee of the Cobb Democratic Party, made the motion to include Sunday voting, although she didn’t explain her reasons.

The issue of absentee ballot drop boxes also was raised. The new Georgia elections law allows only one drop box per 100,000 people as well as one at a county’s main elections office.

Cobb’s maximum is six drop boxes, including one at the East Cobb Government Service Center. The law permits drop boxes to be open only during early voting hours.

The best drop box there is, said East Cobb resident Pamela Reardon, is by going “to the end of your driveway” and putting an absentee ballot in the mail.

She proposes getting rid of them altogether, and board member Pat Gartland, an appointee of the Cobb GOP, agreed.

“You can mail it in,” he said. “We don’t need drop boxes.”

Gartland was the only vote against the motion by Brooks. His earlier motion to adopt Eveler’s proposal as is failed for a lack a of a second.

Of the other elections board members, Silas and assistant secretary Steven Bruning were appointed by the Cobb legislative delegation–which has a one-member Democratic majority–and secretary Jennifer Mosbacher was appointed by Democratic Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid.

For more information about Cobb Elections, click here.

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Cobb school board candidate called up for Army reserve duty

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Catherine Pozniak, who is challenging Post 4 incumbent David Chastain for a seat on the Cobb Board of Education, will be away on U.S. Army Reserve duty the next six weeks.Catherine Pozniak, Cobb school board candidate

She announced in a video on her campaign website that she is reporting for duty next week, and will return in mid-September.

She is a military government specialist for the reserve’s Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command and advises on educational issues.

Pozniak, a Democrat who graduated from Sprayberry High School, has been holding “office hours” sessions with voters at various coffee shops in the area, including Mzizi Coffee on Johnson Ferry Road.

Those and other in-person campaign events will be discontinued while she is on reserve duty.

Post 4 includes the Kell, Lassiter and Sprayberry clusters; Chastain, a Republican who is completing his second term, is the current school board chairman.

“As a member of the Army Reserve, I proudly join tens of thousands of men and women who stand ready to serve when our country calls,” said Pozniak, who is a captain and is a third-generation member of her family to serve in the military.

“While I am serving, I ask that you continue to engage with our campaign team through our website and social media,” she added.

Pozniak said she’ll still respond to e-mail, though it will be “a little bit slower” and “I will continue to provide virtual updates.”

Pozniak, whose father is a retired Army officer, graduated from Sprayberry in 1997 and attended Daniell Middle School and Kincaid Elementary School.

After teaching on a Lakota reservation in South Dakota, Pozniak was an assistant state superintendent of education for fiscal operations in Louisiana and the head of an educational non-profit in Baton Rouge, La.

She currently is principal at Watershed Advisors, an educational and workforce consultancy. This is her first campaign for public office.

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Bills filed to name Atlanta VA office after Johnny Isakson

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Members of the Georgia U.S. House delegation and Georgia U.S. Sen Jon Ossoff have filed bills in Congress to change the name of the Veterans Administration regional office in Atlanta after the late Sen. Johnny Isakson.Isakson blisters Trump

“Senator Isakson spent decades of his life in service to Georgia and our great nation,” said U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath of the 6th Congressional District in a statement issued by her office.

“Senator Isakson’s career left an unforgettable mark on the U.S. Senate and the country as a whole. We shared a passion to make Georgia the best place to live and raise a family, and a dedication to upholding our nation’s commitment to the men and women who served in our armed forces. I am proud to join with my colleagues to support this bill that salutes his legacy of service to Georgia veterans.”

Isakson, a realtor from East Cobb, died in December 2021 from Parkinson’s disease, after a 45-year political career in the Georgia legislature and Congress.

In the U.S. Senate, Isakson, a Republican, was chairman of the Senate Veterans Committee.

“He worked across the aisle to ensure that we honored the sacrifice of those who have served in America’s armed forces,” said U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, like McBath a Democrat from the 3rd District. “He retired from Congress as Chair of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee. Naming the Veterans Affairs Atlanta regional office after him is a fitting tribute to this proud son of Georgia. I am proud to lead this bill with Congressman Allen to honor Senator Isakson’s legacy with the support of Georgia’s entire U.S. House delegation.”

Georgia Congressional members also wrote a letter to veterans committees in both houses saying that Isakson “championed important reforms to improve the quality and accessibility of services for our nation’s military veterans. We believe that Senator Isakson’s service to the veterans of Georgia warrants this tremendous recognition, and that naming this facility is a fitting tribute to his legacy.”

 The rest of the letter can be ready by clicking here.

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Cobb, Georgia elected officials react to Roe v. Wade ruling

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Elected officials in Cobb County and Georgia reacted along predictable partisan lines Friday to a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that struck down a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion.

Cobb officials react to Roe v. Wade ruling
U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath

By a 6-3 vote, the Court reversed Roe v. Wade, which in 1973 gave women a constitutional right to privacy under the 14th Amendment.

Friday’s ruling (you can read it here) upheld a 2018 Mississippi law banning abortion after 15 weeks. The Supreme Court also struck down a 1992 ruling, Casey v. Planned Parenthood, that reaffirmed federal abortion rights.

“The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; Roe and Casey are overruled; and the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives,” concluded the court majority, all appointed by Republican presidents.

The three dissenting votes were from justices appointed by Democratic presidents. The ruling had been anticipated after a draft majority ruling written by Justice Joseph Alito was leaked to the Politico publication in May.

In Georgia, abortions are illegal after 20 weeks from fertilization (or 22 weeks after a woman’s last menstrual cycle), with exceptions for a threat to the mother’s life or if a baby’s health is severely compromised.

In recent years, the GOP-dominated legislature has been trying to impose more severe restrictions.

Kemp lifting shelter-in-place order
Gov. Brian Kemp

In 2019, HB 481, the Living Infants Fairness and Equality (LIFE) Act, or the so-called “heartbeat bill” was passed that made abortion illegal in Georgia once a doctor could detect cardiac activity in a fetus (typically around six weeks).

That bill, sponsored by State Rep. Ed Setzler, an Acworth Republican, and Ginny Erhart, a Republican from West Cobb, is considered one of the harshest in the nation.

It contains exceptions for rape and incest, if the life of the mother is endangered or if a doctor determines a fetus is not viable for medical reasons.

But women also must file a police report in the case of rape or incest.

The law was struck down by a federal judge in 2020 on constitutional grounds. The state appealed to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which said last year it could not issue a ruling until the Supreme Court decided the Mississippi case.

Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who is up for re-election this year, hailed the Supreme Court ruling as “a historic victory for life.”

By mid Friday afternoon, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr had filed notice with the 11th Circuit in Atlanta to lift the stay on the law. Unlike some other states, there is not an automatic trigger provision for the Georgia law.

“There is, simply put, nothing left of the Plaintiff-Appellees’ argument that Georgia law imposes an unconstitutional burden on the practice of abortion,” said the notice.

State Rep. Sharon Cooper
State Rep. Sharon Cooper

Stacey Abrams, Kemp’s Democratic opponent in the November general election, said that “if you’re a woman in Georgia, you should be terrified right now.”

U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Democrat who is up for re-election in November, said that “I’m outraged by the Supreme Court’s decision. As a pro-choice pastor, I’ll never back down from this fight. Women must be able to make their own health care decisions, not politicians.”

His Republican opponent, former UGA football star Herschel Walker, who supports a total ban on abortions, said the court ruling “sends the issue of abortion back to the states, where it belongs. I stand for life and Raphael Warnock stands for abortion . . . I won’t apologize erring on the side of life.”

Two pro-life Republican lawmakers from East Cobb opposed the heartbeat bill. State Rep. Sharon Cooper and Sen. Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick, retired medical professionals, said at the time that the bill would be ruled unconstitutional.

Kirkpatrick was out of town attending a funeral and was formally excused from voting when the bill came up for final Senate action. Cooper, the chairwoman of the House Health and Human Services Committee, voted no on final passage.

East Cobb News left messages with Kirkpatrick and Cooper on Friday seeking comment.

U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, a Marietta Democrat who represents East Cobb in the 6th Congressional District, denounced the Supreme Court ruling.

“Today, every woman in America has been made less free,” she said in a statement issued by her Congressional office. “Today, extremists on the Supreme Court have stripped away a woman’s right to make choices about her own reproductive health care. Today, our nation’s highest court has rolled back the clock and stripped women of their liberty.

 “Today, SCOTUS overturned a half century of precedent, and Dobbs will now join Plessy as one of the most regressive decisions in our nation’s history.”

U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock
U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock

The latter is a reference to Plessy v. Ferguson, an 1896 Supreme Court “separate but equal” ruling that upheld segregation laws, saying they didn’t violate the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.

That ruling lasted for several decades, longer than Roe v. Wade, which prompted widespread activism from Christian conservatives and evangelicals.

The Cobb Republican Party posted a message on its Facebook page with a group photo of the Supreme Court saying “Prayers answered!!!” On Twitter, the message was “Life Wins!”

In 2018 Donald Trump became the first U.S. president to speak to the national March for Life rally in in Washington. His three Supreme Court justice nominees made up half of the majority that voted to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Bryant Wright, the retired pastor of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in East Cobb, tweeted “PTL! 50 years, at last a long awaited answer to prayer that every life is created in the image of God.”

The Catholic Church of St. Ann posted on its Facebook page a response from Archbishop Gregory J. Hartmayer of Atlanta hailing the ruling, saying that “No matter how the court ruled today, we will never stop working to protect women and their babies. Whether or not abortion is legal, we want women to know that we are here to support you, to accompany you and to love you and your babies.”

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6th Congressional Republican runoff: McCormick defeats Evans

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Gwinnett emergency physician Rich McCormick easily defeated East Cobb attorney Jake Evans Tuesday in the Republican Party runoff for the 6th Congressional District.Rich McCormick, 6th Congressional District candidate

According to the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office, McCormick received 27,418 votes, or 66.54 percent, to 13,788 votes, or 33.46 percent, for Evans.

McCormick, an emergency physician at the Gwinnett Medical Center and a former Marine pilot and Navy veteran, will face Democrat Bob Christian, an Army veteran and restaurant manager from Dawsonville, in the November general election.

“The voters of Georgia’s 6th Congressional District have spoken, and I am honored to be their Republican nominee,” McCormick said in a social media message. “We must unite the Party to secure victory in November for Georgia Republicans up and down the ballot. Together, we will Revive Freedom and Save America!”

The newly redrawn 6th District includes parts of East Cobb, as well as parts of Cherokee, North Fulton, Forsyth and Gwinnett counties and all of Dawson County.

McCormick got 43 percent of the Republican vote in May and enjoyed a huge fundraising lead in a large GOP primary field.

Evans was backed by former President Donald Trump and ex-Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, but McCormick won 46 of the 47 precincts in East Cobb in the runoff.

During redistricting last fall, Republican majority in the Georgia legislature redrew the 6th District to one heavily favoring the GOP after the seat fell into Democratic hands in 2018.

Second-term U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath of Marietta switched to the 7th Congressional District, which covers most of Gwinnett County, and defeated another Congresswoman Carolyn Bourdeaux, in the Democratic primary last month.

McCormick, who lives in Suwanee, narrowly lost to Bourdeaux in the 2020 general election in the 7th District.

Another part of East Cobb was redrawn into the 11th Congressional District, currently represented by Republican Barry Loudermilk of Cassville.

He was unopposed in the GOP primary in May, and in November will face Antonio Daza-Fernandez, a Democrat who owns a dance studio in Buckhead, and independent candidate Angela Davis.

In another runoff election Tuesday, Sonja Brown defeated James Luttrell to win a non-partisan seat on Cobb Superior Court. Brown, who got more than 63 percent of the vote, will succeed retiring Judge Robert Flournoy in January.

There were several other Congressional runoffs on Tuesday and a few statewide party nominees decided.

They included a Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, won by Charlie Bailey, who had 63 percent of the vote against former Atlanta City Council president Kwanzaa Hall.

In the Democratic runoff for Secretary of State, Atlanta State Rep. Bee Nguyen received 77 percent of the vote. In November she will challenge Republican incumbent Brad Raffensperger.

More results can be found by clicking here.

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Federal lawsuit filed challenging Cobb school board redistricting

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Cobb school board redistricting town hall
New Cobb school board maps push Post 6 (in turquoise) completely out of East Cobb.

The Southern Poverty Law Center and other organizations and individuals have filed a federal lawsuit challenging the redistricting of Cobb Board of Education seats.

The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for Northern Georgia in Atlanta, claims that legislators used race as “a predominant factor” in redrawing the seven school board posts, diluting black and Hispanic voting power in Cobb County.

The suit alleges that the board’s four white members “forged ahead with a secretive map-drawing process to maintain their tenuous majority over the Board’s three Black members.”

But the only defendants named are the Cobb Board of Elections and Registration and director Janine Eveler.

Cobb government spokesman Ross Cavitt told East Cobb News that Daniel White, the Cobb Elections attorney, was not aware of the lawsuit.

The suit (you can read it here) is asking the court to declare that the redrawn posts 2, 3, and 6 violate the 14th amendment of the U.S. Constitution and to order an interim redistricting plan for those three seats.

Late last year, the board’s Republican majority approved maps that were later introduced by Cobb Republican lawmakers and that were passed by a GOP-majority Georgia legislature in February.

Those new lines pushed three seats entirely into the South Cobb area, including Post 6, which currently includes the Walton and Wheeler attendance zones.

The new lines, which go into effect in January, cut out the East Cobb area of that post, which solely includes the Smyrna-Vinings-Cumberland area.

Post 2 and Post 4 also are in the South Cobb area, and along with Post 6 have are represented by three black Democrats.

One of them is Charisse Davis, who was elected in 2018 to serve Post 6. She is not seeking re-election this year.

Nor did Jaha Howard of Post 2, who ran in the Democratic primary for Georgia school superintendent last month.

The new maps split East Cobb into two districts: Post 4, held by two-term Republican chairman David Chastain and that includes the Kell, Lassiter and Sprayberry clusters; and Post 5, held by Republican vice chairman David Banks, which comprises the Pope, Walton and Wheeler clusters.

Chastain is up for re-election this year and in November will face Democrat Catherine Pozniak.

“Ultimately, the Board and General Assembly enacted a redistricting plan that whitewashed the northern, eastern, and western districts by packing Black and Latinx voters into the Challenged Districts, as a last-ditch effort to limit the power of their emerging political coalition,” read the lawsuit.

“The Plan is a product of the Board’s pattern and practice over the last several years to impose policies that disproportionately and negatively impact students of color and their families.”

SPLC Cobb BOE maps

The lawsuit also catalogues a number of conflicts on the Cobb school board along racial lines over the last three years, and concerns from black legislators about the redistricting proposals that they may violate the federal Voting Rights Act.

“As shown in the maps [above] which reflect Black and Latinx voting age population figures by voting district utilizing 2020 census data, the majority of Cobb County’s Black and Latinx communities live in the southern half of the County, while most of the County’s white population lives in the north,” according to the lawsuit.

Other plaintiffs include the Galeo Latino Community Development Fund, the New Georgia Project Fund, the League of Women Voters of Marietta-Cobb and some Cobb school parents in those three posts.

Other legal groups involved in filing the suit include the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, the ACLU Foundation of Georgia and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law.

This story will be updated.

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Georgia primary ballot questions deliver lopsided results

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Cobb absentee ballot drop boxes
Republican voters want absentee ballot dropboxes eliminated, while Demcorats want their availability expanded.

The biggest winners in the Georgia primary elections on May 24—at least in terms of percentage of the vote—weren’t individual candidates or those fighting against Cityhood referendums in Cobb County.

The respective Republican and Democratic questions that appeared on partisan ballots were overwhelmingly lopsided, which isn’t a new trend.

The state parties assembled questions on topics familiar to their voting bases.

The results are used by the parties to shape messaging and to collect information, but this year they touched on a number of cultural and other hot-button topics.

Republicans were asked about border security, education spending, absentee ballot access and Buckhead cityhood in relation to crime concerns.

Regarding the latter, a proposed Buckhead cityhood bill was scotched by outgoing GOP Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and the bill had no local sponsors.

The ballot question that got the most one-sided response from Republican voters was transgender athletes, with 95 percent saying female-identified biological males should not be allowed to compete against girls in high school sports.

But the GOP-led Georgia legislature couldn’t pass a bill requiring high school athletes to compete with the sex of their birth.

Another bill passed this year gave that authority to the Georgia High School Association, the governing body for high school athletics. On May 4, the GHSA’s executive committee, by a 62-0 vote, changed its bylaws to bar transgender athletes from competing along gender identity lines.

Democratic voters were asked about student loan forgiveness, Medicare expansion, expanding voter registration access and parental leave.

Five of the nine questions had YES votes of 90 percent or more, including incentives for Georgia to promote the creation of renewable energy sources.

Only 80 percent said YES to a question if marijuana should be legalized and regulated, similar to alcohol, for consumers aged 21 and over, with tax revenues to fund education, health care and infrastructure.

You can view additional results by clicking here.

Republican Party Questions

1. The Biden administration has stopped building the border wall and illegal border crossings have dramatically increased. Should securing our border be a national priority?

  • YES: 93% statewide; 89% Cobb

2. Education is the largest line item in the state budget. Should education dollars follow the student to the school that best fits their need, whether it is public, private, magnet, charter, virtual or homeschool? 3. Florida has passed a law to stop social media platforms from influencing political campaigns by censoring candidates. Should Georgia pass such a law to protect free speech in political campaigns?

  • YES: 78% statewide and Cobb

3. Florida has passed a law to stop social media platforms from influencing political campaigns by censoring candidates. Should Georgia pass such a law to protect free speech in political campaigns?

  • YES: 83% statewide; 81% Cobb

4. Two of the three current federal work visa programs are lottery based. Should federal work visas instead be issued on job skill? 

  • YES: 86.6% statewide and Cobb; 

5. Biological males who identify as females have begun competing in female sports. Should schools in Georgia allow biological males to compete in female sports?

  • NO: 95% statewide; 95% Cobb; 

6. To prevent ballot tampering, state law prohibits political operatives from handling absentee ballots once they have been marked by the voter. To protect the integrity of our elections, should the enforcement of laws against ballot tampering be a priority?

  • YES: 95% statewide; 92.8% Cobb;

7. Absentee drop boxes are vulnerable to illegal ballot trafficking. Should absentee ballot drop boxes be eliminated?

  • YES: 85% statewide; 75% Cobb

8. Crime has dramatically increased throughout the country including in our capital city of Atlanta. Should the citizens of residential areas like the Buckhead community of Atlanta be allowed to vote to create their own city governments and police departments?

  • YES: 80% statewide; and Cobb

Democratic Party Questions

1. Should the United States remove obstacles to economic advancement by forgiving all student loan debt?

  • YES: 85% statwide; 81% Cobb;

2. Should all Georgians have access to paid parental leave following the birth or adoption of a child?

  • YES: 95%% statewide; 96% Cobb

3. Should every three- and four-year-old in Georgia be given the opportunity to attend a high-quality preschool free of charge?

  • YES 96% statewide; 95% Cobb

4. Should Georgia voters have the right to gather signed petitions to directly place questions on the ballot, whether to change the law or poll the public?

  • YES 87% statewide; 86% Cobb

5. Should families earning less than $150,000 per year receive an expanded tax credit to help cover the costs of raising children?

  • YES 88.8% statewide; 87.6% Cobb

6. Should the State of Georgia expand access to health care for over half a million Georgians by utilizing federal funds to expand Medicaid?

  • YES 96.9% statewide; 96.8% Cobb

7. Should the State of Georgia expand voter access by increasing early voting opportunities, allow same-day voter registration, removing obstacles to voting by mail, and installing secure ballot drop boxes, accessible at all times, through Election Day?

  • YES: 95% statewide; 97% Cobb

8. Should marijuana be legalized, taxed, and regulated in the same manner as alcohol for adults 21 years of age or older, with proceeds going towards education, infrastructure, and health care programs?

  • YES: 80% statewide; 84% Cobb

9. Should the State of Georgia incentivize the development of clean, renewable energy sources to support America’s energy independence?

  • YES: 96.9% statewide; 97.9% Cobb

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Some East Cobb precincts change for primary runoff elections

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The Cobb Board of Elections and Registration has announced some precinct venue changes for the June 21 primary runoff elections.

Among those contests headed to a runoff is the Republican primary for the 6th Congressional District, which includes some of East Cobb, and pits Jake Evans against Rich McCormick.

The changes were made after Cobb Elections was told that some regular polling places would not be available on the runoff election day.

The locations of three East Cobb precincts will be different but Cobb Elections said they are only temporary and for the runoff only. They include the following:

  • Fullers Park 1: From Fullers Park Recreation Center to Immanuel Korean United Methodist Church (945 Old Canton Road);
  • Murdock 1: From Atlanta Chinese Christian Church to Murdock Elementary School (2320 Murdock Road)
  • Roswell 2: From Mt. Zion United Methodist Church to Episcopal Church of St. Peter and St. Paul (1795 Johnson Ferry Road).

Advance voting in the runoffs starts Wednesday and continues through June 17 at various locations. Some will have absentee ballot dropboxes, including the East Cobb Government Service Center (4400 Lower Roswell Road). For more information, click here.

You can check your registration status by clicking here.

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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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