Polk County is going to the polls on Tuesday to decide the future of several positions, and already hundreds of folks have cast a ballot ahead of the counting coming up for the 2024 local and state primaries happening tomorrow.
The Polk County Board of Elections reported that 1,650 ballots have been cast between the Cedartown, Rockmart early voting precincts and absentee mail-in votes. Cedartown early voters cast 861 ballots, and Rockmart early voters added 672 ballots. Out of the 203 mail-in ballots sent out, the Board of Elections got back 117 of them from voters ahead of Tuesday’s primaries.
Voters are being asked to come out and cast a GOP ballot for local positions on the ballot that’ll be determined ahead of the November general and presidential elections. Primary voters who take up the GOP ballot are picking countywide the District 1 Commission seat, the District 3 Commission seat, the coroner and surveyor. Two school board races local to Rockmart – District 5 and District 6 – are also on the ballot this year.
Precincts will open Tuesday morning, May 21 at 7 a.m. and remain open until 7 p.m. They include Cedartown’s precinct at the Goodyear Civic Center on Prior Street, the Rockmart voting location at the Nathan Dean Community Center on Goodyear Avenue, Aragon City Hall on Highway 101, Camp Antioch on Antioch Road, Pine Bower Baptist Church on Pine Bower Road south of Cedartown, Lake Creek in the Lake Creek Baptist Church gymnasium, and for Fish Creek voters at Victory Baptist Church on Highway 278 at Hendrix Road.
The Tuesday primary ballot features multiple candidates across the six races in total. Starting with the Constitutional offices, the Coroner’s race between incumbent Norman Smith and challenger Nathan Womack is a countywide race alongside the Surveyor’s race between Robert Cannon and Nick Rainey.
The District 1 and District 3 County Commission races are also for all primary voters to decide. The District 1 race features incumbent appointee Jordan Hubbard seeking to extend his term, alongside candidates Deborah Connelly, Michael Gravett and James Vines. They are joined in a contested District 3 race by incumbent Ray Carter seeking to extend his term in office, and challengers John Paschal and Butch Garrett.
The two district-specific races come down to candidates for the School Board races – both for open seats starting with new terms in 2025. Former interim Superintendent and longtime educator and administrator Greg Teems and longtime agriculture educator Jeff Hawkins are facing off for the District 5 seat.
The District 6 seat is between Christina Robinson and Paul “Drew” Williams Jr.
Both are Rockmart-area only races for those living within the district boundaries.
Polk Today will be checking in on Election Day around the county on precincts and will be reporting on the results after polls have closed on Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. Check back for vote tallies and more coverage from Primary Day in Polk County as it becomes available.
