It will take 117 different ballots to cover all Jackson County election possibilities next Tuesday, but well before midnight the 2012 Republican and Democratic primary elections will be all over but the shouting.
Except for the runoff election, which is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 21.
Early voting ends Friday at 5. As of late Monday afternoon, Jackson County voters had cast 1,486 early ballots in the County Administrative Building alone. There are upwards of 34,000 registered voters in Jackson County.
The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday in all precincts.
Three countywide races are of particular interest. They’re the races for sheriff, where seven candidates seek to succeed retiring sheriff Stan Evans; the board of commissioners’ chairman’s race, where incumbent Hunter Bicknell is challenged by Tom Crow; and the race for probate judge, where four candidates vie to succeed Margaret Deadwyler, who is retiring.
Most of those contests — and all of the Jackson County races — will be only on the Republican ballot, since all the candidates are Republicans. The exceptions are the nonpartisan races for probate judge and for State Court of Jackson County where incumbent Rob Alexander faces a challenge from Jeff Perry.
Also countywide on the GOP ballot is the race for coroner, with incumbent Keith Whitfield facing Jim Keinard.
Referendums On The Ballot
Voters in both primaries will also decide in a 12-county referendum whether to levy a one-percent local option sales tax for transportation for the next decade (see separate story), will cast ballots to decide if the Sunday sale of alcohol by the drink and beer and wine by the package will be allowed in the unincorporated areas of the county.
Summary Of Contested Races
Sheriff: Andy Garrison, Ramone Gilbert, Janis Mangum, Gerald E. Moon, Randy Moore, Ronnie Norris and Greg Vaughan
Probate Judge: Tracy Brooks, Donna Geiger, Sherry Moore and Donna Sikes
Board of commissioners chairman: Hunter Bicknell, incumbent; and Tom Crow
Commissioner, District 1: Jim Hix and Guy Spicer
Commissioner, District 2: Max Allen, Chas Hardy, incumbent; and Jody Thompson
Judge of State Court (nonpartisan): Rob Alexander, incumbent; and Jeff Perry
Coroner: Jim Keinard and Keith Whitfield, incumbent
Regional Races
Ninth District, U.S. Congress: Republicans Doug Collins, Roger Fitzpatrick and Martha Zoller; and Democrat Joey Cooley
Georgia Senate, District 47: Republicans Frank Ginn, incumbent, and Danny Yearwood; and Democrat Tim Riley
Georgia House District 117: Doug McKillip, incumbent; and Regina Quick
Jackson County Board of Education District 4: Lance McMurray and Lynne Wheeler, incumbent
Unopposed On Tuesday’s Ballot
The following candidates are unopposed, but will be on the ballot Tuesday:
Jackson County Board of Education, District 1: Michael Cronic, incumbent
Jackson County tax commissioner: Don Elrod, incumbent
Jackson County clerk of court: Cammie Thomas, incumbent
Jackson County solicitor: Don Moore, incumbent
Surveyor: Joseph Kyle Wood
District attorney, Piedmont Judicial Circuit: Brad Smith, incumbent
Magistrate Court judge: Billy Chandler, incumbent
Superior Court judges: Joe Booth, David Motes and Currie Mingledorff, all incumbents and all unopposed
State House, District 31: Tommy Benton, incumbent
Fire Boards
The following are candidates for election to local fire boards:
East Jackson – David McCoy and Michael Glover
Maysville – Hubert Blalock, Paul Douglass and Nolan Pritchett
Nicholson — Marty Seagraves
Harrisburg — John Watson, Dean Love Jr., Heather Ann Hart, Dan Sailors and Jeffrey Jones
West Jackson — Joel T. Keith and Tim Sweat
South Jackson — Dean Stringer, RH Edwards Jr. and Edwin Oldhame
Arcade — Travis Bennett, Frank Clark, Douglas Martin and Jesse “Buster” Covington
North Jackson — Robert McEver and Dennis Elrod
Plainview — Dwight Langford and Charles Craig Sewell
Jackson Trail — Ted Bishop, Bobby Saylors and James Johnson
