Please follow East Cobb News coverage of the 2020 primaries by clicking this link.
On Tuesday Georgia’s delayed primary elections take place, after weeks of absentee balloting and early voting.
Voters who turn out at the polls at their designated precinct will be asked to choose one of three ballots: Democratic, Republican and non-partisan.
In East Cobb, voters will be choosing party nominees in a variety of federal, state and local offices, and judges in non-partisan races for state and local court positions.
Precincts will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at all locations.
Because of social distancing guidelines and shortages of precinct workers due to COVID-19, lines are expected to be longer than usual.
Voters are encouraged to factor in longer times when they arrive at their precincts.
What’s on the ballot?
East Cobb voters have several contested primaries in partisan races, including Republican primaries for Cobb Commission Chairman and Cobb Commission District 2, as well as Democratic and Republican primaries for Cobb school board Post 5.
There’s also a Republican primary for the 6th Congressional District race and a Democratic primary for State House District 46.
In countywide races, contested primaries include Democrats in the Cobb Sheriff’s race and Democrats and Republicans for Superior Court Clerk. Non-partisan races are taking place for three seats on Cobb Superior Court and one on Cobb State Court.
There’s a large field of Democrats pursuing their party’s nomination to face Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. David Perdue in November.
U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, appointed by Gov. Brian Kemp to succeed the retired Johnny Isakson, won’t be on the primary ballot. The election to determine who fills the final two years of Isakson’s term will be decided in a jungle primary in November, with candidates of both parties. She’s one of them, along with Republican U.S. Rep. Doug Collins.
The Democratic presidential primary also is scheduled Tuesday, and like the local and state primaries has been delayed by COVID-19 closures. Former vice president Joe Biden wrapped up the party nomination earlier this week in terms of needed delegates.
He’ll be listed as one of a dozen candidates on the Democratic ballot, most of whom dropped out not long after the primaries began in February.
Candidate profiles and related information for local races can be found at the East Cobb News 2020 Elections Guide resource page.
Here are the sample ballots from Cobb Elections:
These ballots are countywide composites and contain candidates who may not appear on your actual ballot. You can download a precise sample ballot at the My Voter Page from the Georgia Secretary of State’s office.
If you choose a ballot from one of the major parties, you’ll also be asked questions that respective party leaders, either local or state, have formulated to gauge where their constituency stands on certain issues.
The respective party sample ballots include the questions that will appear on the ballot you’ll get at the polls.
Early voting concluded on Friday, including all this past week at the East Cobb Government Center. According to Cobb Elections, 1,699 people voted at the East Cobb venue, with 1,045 asking for Democratic ballots, 640 Republican and 14 non-partisan.
Across the county, 11,527 voters cast early in-person ballots: 8,122 Democratic, 3,317 Republican and 88 non-partisan.
Cobb Elections also issued 143,061 absentee ballots, and 80,164 have been returned: 41,702 Democratic, 36,139 Republican and 2,323 non-partisan.
More early voting figures can be found here.
Runoff elections would take place Aug. 11. That date also was delayed from its originally scheduled date of July 21.
Where and how to vote
Your voter registration card has the location of your voting precinct. If you are unsure of your precinct, Cobb Elections has them listed by precinct name and by venue name.
Earlier this year several precinct venues were changed, three of them in East Cobb: Dickerson, Dodgen and Marietta 6A.
Right before the primary, Cobb Elections announced that the venue for the Roswell 02 precinct was being switched from Mt. Zion United Methodist Church to the Episcopal Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, across the street at 1795 Johnson Ferry Road.
When you arrive at your polling station, you will be asked to fill out a form and show a government-approved photo ID.
Absentee ballots
If you received an absentee ballot and haven’t filled it out, you can do so on election day, as long as you deposit it at one of several designated drop boxes in the county, including the East Cobb Government Service Center (4400 Lower Roswell Road), by 7 p.m. Tuesday.
For more local voting-related information, please visit the Cobb Elections page.
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