ELECTION DAY: Polls opened this morning for local votes

Voters are heading to the polls this morning across the country, but here in Polk County the ballots are all locally-focused.

Precincts opened this morning at 7 a.m. and will remain open until 7 p.m. for balloting in votes for City of Aragon, the Rockmart Mayor’s Race and for the countywide SPLOST extension vote for the 2023 races.

Early voting ended on Friday with 546 people casting ballots prior to today’s polling for the local races. More voters this year went to the Rockmart precinct – 333 in total – while Cedartown’ new precinct saw 213 people cast a ballot. The Board of Elections issued 36 absentee ballots, got 26 back and rejected five by the time early voting closed on Friday. That leaves five outstanding for return by the close of the polls today.

Where are you voting?

Those registered can head to their polling place at one of seven locations in Polk County to take part in the countywide SPLOST vote.

NOTE: CEDARTOWN AND YOUNGS GROVE POLLING PLACES HAVE CHANGED.

Polling places for 2023 are:

Aragon – Aragon United Methodist Church – 101 New Prospect Road, Aragon

Blooming Grove – Pine Bower Baptist Church – 100 Pine Bower Road, Cedartown

Cedartown – Goodyear Civic Center – 108 Prior St., Cedartown

Fish Creek – Victory Baptist Church – 15 Hendrix Road, Rockmart

Lake Creek – Cedar Lake Christian Life Center – 1890 Rome Hwy., Cedartown

Rockmart – Nathan Dean Community Center at 604 Goodyear Ave., Rockmart

Youngs Grove – Camp Antioch (Polk-Haralson Christian Life Center) 3900 Antioch Road, Cedartown

Need to find your polling place? Visit the My Voter Page for the State of Georgia.

What’s on the ballot?

That’s an easy question. Several races in Aragon including the Mayor and three council seats are being decided today.

The Mayor’s Race in Rockmart between incumbent Sherman Ross and challengers James Payne and Cooley Austin might be decided today, as well as whether the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax will be extended past 2026 to 2032.

Voters in Cedartown and Rockmart also had commission and council races, but those are unopposed and do not require voters to decide the outcome.

Here’s a look at sample ballots before you head to the polls: