On Tuesday voters will be going to the polls in the 2020 General Election that’s already seen record turnout for early and absentee balloting in Cobb County and Georgia.
This East Cobb Election Day 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. 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 (more info about this below).
EAST COBB ELECTIONS GUIDE
For voters in East Cobb, there’s a full slate of competitive races at every level—local, state and federal.
Georgia and Cobb have become battlegrounds in the presidential sweepstakes, and candidates in both U.S. Senate races have been heavily courting voters in the county.
Cobb Elections said 174,379 people voted during the three-week early voting period that ended Friday, and it has received 135,633 of 181,861 absentee ballots requested.
That’s an estimated 58 percent of Cobb’s registered voters who have already cast their ballots.
Democrats cut into East Cobb’s Republican stronghold in 2018 and are vying for more, including possible control of the Cobb Board of Commissioners and the Cobb Board of Education.
Republican Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce is seeking a second term against commissioner Lisa Cupid of South Cobb. She could become the first female and African-American to head the county government, as well as the first Democrat since Ernest Barrett in 1984.
In the race to succeed retiring District 2 commissioner Bob Ott, Republican Fitz Johnson and Democrat Jerica Richardson are both seeking their first stint in public office.
Another political newcomer, Democrat Julia Hurtado, is challenging three-term Republican school board member David Banks in Post 5, which includes the Pope and Lassiter clusters.
Legislative races in East Cobb that previously had little competition will be contested everywhere, including some rematches from 2018.
Republican State Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick is facing Democratic attorney Christine Triebsch for the third time in four years in District 32.
Democrats need to flip 16 seats in the House to gain control, and one of the most closely-watched races is in District 43. Longtime Republican State Rep. Sharon Cooper is facing Democrat Luisa Wakeman, who nearly beat her two years ago.
In the District 45 race, Republican State Rep. Matt Dollar, the sponsor of an East Cobb cityhood bill last year, is facing first-time candidate Sara Tindall Ghazal, a former voter protection director for the Georgia Democratic Party.
Two Republican and one Democratic state house incumbents in Northeast Cobb also have opposition.
Another 2018 rematch is in store in the 6th Congressional District, where Republican Karen Handel is trying to regain the seat she lost to Democrat Lucy McBath.
Cobb voters also will be voting in countywide races for sheriff and district attorney and will be deciding on whether to renew the Cobb SPLOST, starting in 2022.
CHECK YOUR REGISTRATION
WHERE TO VOTE
ABSENTEE BALLOT DROP BOXES
GOING TO THE POLLS
Since the 2018 election, a number of precinct changes have been made as Cobb Elections is gradually moving away from schools.
Here’s a list of precinct changes since last year. Most recently, the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center (2051 Lower Roswell Road) was designated the polling station for the Powers Ferry 1 precinct. The Mountain View Regional Library (3320 Sandy Plains Road) is the venue for the Simpson 1 precinct.
They’re among five Cobb library branches that will be closed all day Tuesday to serve as precincts.
On Friday, Cobb Elections said that the Elizabeth 5 polling station at Sandy Plains Baptist Church would be unavailable due to damage from Hurricane Zeta. Voters in that precinct should go to Holy Trinity Lutheran Church (2922 Sandy Plains Road), which is also the Sandy Plains 1 precinct.
If you’re going to your precinct on Tuesday, Cobb Elections is asking you to remember four things before you come:
- Check your polling location at the “My Voter Page” at the Georgia Secretary of State website;
- Bring a photo ID;
- If you received an absentee ballot but want to vote in person, bring the absentee ballot. It must be cancelled before you can vote at the polls;
- Voters must wear masks and should expect socially-distant lines.
If you’re voting in the morning, you may want to bundle up. Tuesday’s expected to be bright and sunny, but temperatures will be in the high 30s when the polls open. It’ll get warmer, into the mid-50s around noon, and then rise to the low 60s by mid-afternoon.
If you are in line by 7 p.m., you will be allowed to vote.
If you’re dropping off an absentee ballot, here are the locations. In East Cobb, they’re located at the following:
- East Cobb Government Service Center (4400 Lower Roswell Road)
- Sewell Mill Library (2051 Lower Roswell Road)
- Mountain View Regional Library (3320 Sandy Plains Road)
- Gritters Library (880 Shaw Park Drive)
Remember: Absentee ballots must be dropped off by 7 p.m., when the polls close. All but the Gritters Library are being used as precincts, so expect traffic bottlenecks.
The Georgia Secretary of State’s office has created an absentee ballot tracker that lets you follow the status of your absentee ballot after you have returned it.
FOLLOW ELECTION COVERAGE
East Cobb News will provide continuing coverage all day and evening on Tuesday, as well as the rest of the week, given the high turnout and time needed to count absentee ballots.
If you have questions about voting, or photos or impressions to share of your experience at the polls, let us know: editor@eastcobbnews.com.
We’ll also be sending out a special election newsletter on Wednesday. If you’re not a subscriber and you’d like to sign up, click the link below.
We’ll have much more detailed coverage in our Sunday edition of the newsletter.
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