Early voting begins for Georgia's May primary, judicial elections

ATLANTA - Georgia voters will head to the polls starting on Monday to have their say in party primary races and nonpartisan judicial elections. 

Three weeks of early in-person voting is set to begin at 7 a.m. Monday ahead of the May 21 election, when parties will choose their nominees for congressional and state legislative seats, as well as for local races including sheriffs, district attorneys and county commissioners.

May 21 is also the general election for judicial candidates, who run on a nonpartisan basis.

Mail-in ballots were sent last week to those who had requested them, while people can continue to request a mail ballot through May 10.

You can find out more about where to vote on the Georgia Secretary of State's My Voter page.

Fulton County candidates vying to be next sheriff

In Fulton County, one of the top contests is between five candidates all trying to become or remain the county's top law official.

The duties of the sheriff include overseeing the operation and administration of the Fulton County Jail, providing security for all courtrooms and judges, providing warrant service/civil process, special operations and investigative units, and conducting delinquent property tax sales, according to the Fulton County Sheriff's Office official website.

On Sunday, current Sheriff Patrick "Pat" Labat came out swinging against three of the people who want to take his job at a candidate forum hosted by FOX 5's Aungelique Proctor.

"It is hard to serve, and there are a lot of criticisms that come along with it," Labat said.

Much of the discussion during the debate centered around the Fulton County Jail. Looking over the overcrowded jail has proven to be a difficult job, especially in 2023 when at least 10 inmates had reportedly died in custody. With 140 vacancies, Joyce Farmer said something needed to be done.

"The staffing is part of the reason why we are where we are now. It's not so much of the jail. The jail is being torn up because there is no staff," Farmer said.

Candidate Kirt Beasley, who worked at the jail before retiring in 2017, said more needs to be done.

"We have to become smarter than the ones who are in the jail," she said. "We can't allow them to control the jail."

Labat countered by saying he's done the best he can to turn around a bad situation, calling the Fulton County Sheriff's Office a "hot mess" before he was elected.

You can learn more about the candidates running for the position here.
 

DeKalb County CEO candidates debate.

All three candidates competing to be the next DeKalb County CEO faced off in a debate Sunday hosted by the Atlanta Press Club.   

Current CEO Michael Thurmond has hit his term limit. 

All three candidates, DeKalb County Commissioners Lorraine Cochran-Johnson, Steve Bradshaw and Larry Johnson, are Democrats. No Republicans have entered the race, which means whoever wins the May 21 primary will be the new CEO. 

Things heated up quickly as candidates were asked to ask each other questions. 

Cochran-Johnson called into question Bradshaw's ethics when she asked him about a matter that came before the commission that involved a property next door to his own. 

"He had been warned by the ethics board that he had both a real and perceived interest in the property because it abutted his home. I'd like to know from him what he will do in the future, or how can we trust him to be ethical when he has failed to do so previously?" Cochran-Johnson said. 

"That's not true ... I specifically asked the ethics director for a ruling on that, and she told me that because I didn't have any financial interest in the property, it wasn't a problem for me to take action. So, I don't know where those facts came from. I won't call them facts because that is inaccurate in terms of what transpired," Bradshaw said. 

Then Bradshaw accused Cochran-Johnson of not being transparent about using COVID relief funds for a restaurant he claimed she owned.

"I was taught to believe that leadership is about self-sacrifice while others are in need. You stood in line first. To me, that's not right. And that's not leadership," Bradshaw said. 

But she fired back and said it belonged to a family member.

"I never stood in line. Obviously, Commissioner Bradshaw is not hearing well. The restaurant was actually owned by my aunt, and everything that she's done has been legal and aboveboard," Cochran-Johnson said. 

Other issues discussed include affordable housing and taking care of senior citizens. 

 "I will be the one leading the charge to bring these partnerships together. We don't need to put the burden all on DeKalb County taxpayers, but we need to work with our federal and state partners to make sure affordable housing is happening and done in the County," Johnson said. 

"You can trust me to fight under the Golden Dome to repeal the legislation that currently prohibits both rental rate caps as well as rental registries... so that I can ensure that there is no adverse effects on taxation for our seniors," Cochran-Johnson said. 

Bradshaw touted his record for helping DeKalb seniors.

"We took that vote. The senior community center is open and whenever I'm there, the seniors in the community tell me how much they love it and how grateful they are to me for fighting for that resource," Bradshaw said. 

Another issue included 911 call wait times. 

"The bottom line is it requires leadership and focus. And I've got good interface with the mayors in the cities that have been affected and will work collaboratively to make sure that 911 process is addressed," Bradshaw said. 

The candidates discussed problems with trash and recycling collection. 

"As your CEO, you can depend on me to hire the necessary workers to deliver the service and not to act in a covert manner. It is absolutely imperative that we, as elected officials, operate our departments with integrity," Cochran-Johnson said. 

And Johnson addressed criminal justice reform in his closing statement.  

"That we just don't put our folks in the county jail for mental health and substance abuse. That's not the place for them, they will work to have the best trained, best paid, best-equipped police department," Johnson said.

Fani Willis opts out of Fulton County district attorney debate

Current Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis chose not to take part in a debate against the man challenging her in the Democratic primary coming up in May. 

Attorney Christian Wise Smith, who ran against Willis four years ago, announced that he qualified to run for the position in March. 

While races like these rarely attract national attention, the intense scrutiny on the 2020 election interference case has pushed them into the spotlight. Willis obtained an indictment in August against Trump and 18 others, accusing them of illegally trying to overturn his election loss to Democrat Joe Biden in the state. But those charges have been overshadowed for the last two months by the focus on the romantic relationship Willis had with a special prosecutor in the case and whether that should disqualify her from pursuing the prosecution.

Willis and Wise Smith, who had both worked in the Fulton County district attorney’s office under then-District Attorney Paul Howard, challenged their former boss in the Democratic primary in 2020. Willis then beat Howard in a runoff and ran unopposed in the November general election that year.

Courtney Kramer, who said she interned in the White House counsel’s office under Trump for three months in 2018, was the only Republican to qualify by the deadline. The general election is in November.

Georgia congressional showdown

Six Republicans are seeking their party’s nomination to succeed U.S. Rep. Drew Ferguson in a district that runs along the Alabama border from Carrollton to Columbus and swings east into the Atlanta suburbs around Peachtree City and Fayetteville.

Former President Donald Trump has endorsed his one-time aide Brian Jack for the seat. Also seeking the nomination are former state Sens. Mike Crane and Mike Dugan, former state Rep. Philip Singleton, Jim Bennett and Ray Blair.

On the Democratic side, Val Almonord and Maura Keller are seeking their party’s nomination in the heavily GOP district.

Other Georgia congressional races

Incumbent U.S. Reps. Lucy McBath and David Scott, both Democrats, face challengers from their own party in redrawn districts.

Scott faces six challengers in the 13th District in Atlanta’s southern and eastern suburbs. They include former East Point City Council member Karen René, former South Fulton City Council member Mark Baker and attorney Brian Johnson. On the Republican side, Jonathan Chavez is running against Johsie Fletcher.

U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath has jumped from the 7th District to run in the 6th District, on the western side of metro Atlanta. She’s being challenged by fellow Democrats Mandisha Thomas, a state representative, and Jerica Richardson, a Cobb County commissioner.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.