Sep 23, 2024 - News

Your 2024 election guide in Atlanta

Animated illustration of the state of Georgia and a checkmark taking turns rotating to face the reader in a red and blue room made of ballot elements. — Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios

Election Day is Nov. 5, and in-person early voting kicks off Oct. 15 in Georgia. Here's what you need to know about how to vote and key races around the state.

Why it matters: Georgia is a swing state and crucial to deciding whether Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Trump occupies the White House in January.

Plus: Atlanta voters will fill a vacant citywide seat on the City Council. And Fulton County voters will decide whether starring players in Trump's 2020 election interference case deserve another term in office.

Caveat: Statewide offices like governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general are not on the ballot until 2026.

The intrigue: Most U.S. House and state legislative races are expected to be lopsided, with districts drawn to favor one party.

Presidential election in Georgia

Photo illustration of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, talking, over a divided blue and red background with elements of ballots. — Photo illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios. Photos: Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images and Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images

Harris will face Trump in what is expected to be another nail-biter race after the state famously flipped blue in 2020.

Also on Georgia's ballot seeking the presidency: Claudia de la Cruz (independent), Chase Oliver (Libertarian Party) and Jill Stein (Green Party).

Why it matters: Georgia's 16 Electoral College votes can blaze a candidate's path clear to the White House. But the fast-growing and politically and demographically ever-changing state is tricky to gauge when it comes to voter sentiment.

The bottom line: Every ballot matters. In 2020, Biden won the state by a now well-known 11,780 votes.

Fun fact: Georgia voters will have the most presidential candidates on the ballot since 2000, ABC News reports.

The intrigue: Democrats, Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and voting rights activists say recent State Election Board rule changes could delay results or sow confusion during the vote count.

U.S. Congress races in Georgia

All of Georgia's 14 congressional districts are up for grabs, but gerrymandering has helped create partisan advantages, especially in rural areas.

Zoom out: After being drawn out of her area during the most recent redistricting, U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Duluth) is running for the 6th Congressional District seat covering parts of west metro Atlanta.

Her Republican opponent is Jeff Criswell, the former owner of a baseball brand company.

Yes, but: The red district races featuring favored-to-win Trump allies U.S. Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Andrew Clyde and Mike Collins could be a temperature check for MAGA fever in Georgia.

Georgia General Assembly races

Illustration of the Georgia State Capitol dome dividing a red and blue background with elements of ballots. — Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios

Like in Congress, state legislators have gerrymandered political districts to their partisan advantage, so competition is low. The outskirts of metro Atlanta suburbs are some of Georgia's most competitive battlegrounds.

Key races include:

State House District 42: Democratic socialist candidate Gabriel Sanchez defeated incumbent Rep. Teri Anulewicz (D-Smyrna) in the May primary. Sanchez will face Republican Diane Jackson on Nov. 5.
State House District 53: House Rep. Deborah Silcox (R-Sandy Springs) is running against Democratic attorney Susie Greenberg. Both ran unopposed in the May primary, with Greenberg earning several hundred more votes in the North Fulton district than the incumbent.

Georgia ballot measures

Illustration of a pattern of checkmarks that turn into question marks and vice versa, over a red and blue background with a pattern of ballot elements. — Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios

Georgia voters are being asked to approve or reject ballot measures proposing changes to tax exemptions and an esoteric appeal process you'll likely never experience. They include:

Georgia Tax Tribunal: Moving the Georgia Tax Tribunal, an executive branch office that oversees complex tax disputes, to the judiciary branch. Endorsed by business leaders, the change would reroute appeals of the tribunal's decisions from superior court to the Georgia Court of Appeals.
Homestead tax exemption: Creating a statewide homestead tax exemption on local property taxes (cities and counties could opt out).
Property tax exemption: Increasing the tax exemption on tangible personal property — think valuable items and equipment that are not motor vehicles, trailers and mobile homes — from $7,500 to 20,000.

Fulton County races

Illustration of the Fulton County Courthouse dividing a blue and red background with elements of ballots. — Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios

Fulton District Attorney Fani Willis and Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee drew general election challengers thanks to their high-profile appearances in Trump's ongoing election interference case.

Caveat: Sheriff Pat Labat, the jailer who booked Trump in the Rice Street lock-up, cruised past several primary challengers in May and faces write-in candidate Charles Rambo, a former sheriff deputy.

Zoom out: Fulton County Commissioner Bob Ellis, who represents conservative North Fulton, is challenged by Democrat Megan Harris.

He is the only member of the county's legislative body who's facing a general election opponent.

Atlanta City Council races

Voters across the city will fill the Atlanta City Council at-large seat vacated when Keisha Sean Waites stepped down to run an unsuccessful campaign for Fulton County Superior Court clerk.

Zoom in: Five people qualified to run for the open citywide seat.

They are business owner and Buckhead community organizer Amber Higgins Connor; activist Devin Barrington Ward; City Hall rabble-rouser Duvwon Robinson; former Atlanta Public Schools Board Chair Eshe' Collins; and retired educator Nicole "Nikki" Evans Jones.

What's next: The large number of candidates increases the chances of the two top vote-getters facing off in a Dec. 3 runoff.

Important dates

Oct. 7: The deadline to register to vote

Oct. 15: Early voting begins

Oct. 25: Today's the last day to request an absentee ballot

Nov. 1: Early voting ends

Nov. 5: Election Day. Vote in person.

How to vote in Georgia

Animated illustration of the state of Georgia rotating to reveal a checkmark over a divided red and blue background with elements of ballots. — Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios

OK, it's time to fulfill your civic duty.

To vote absentee:

Request an absentee ballot from the secretary of state's office before Oct. 25.

Pay close attention to the deadlines and rules, as they've changed since 2020. For example, voting drop boxes made popular during the pandemic now have limited hours and availability.

To vote early or in-person: First, make sure you have the appropriate photo ID before heading to your polling place.

Don't know the location of your polling place? Check your voting information by visiting the Georgia Secretary of State My Voter Page.

Once there, plug in your first initial, last name, county and date of birth.
Click on your precinct card to see your polling place and districts for City Council (if you live in an incorporated area), county commission, Board of Education, U.S. House, state House and state Senate.

Don't know who or what is on the ballot? On the My Voter page, you can view Democratic, Republican and nonpartisan sample ballots.

The fine print: Your polling place may have changed and you may be in new U.S. House, state House or state Senate districts due to redistricting.

Remember: Polls will close at 7pm, but if you're in line at that time, you will be allowed to vote.

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