Early voting starts today for wide-open races to lead some of Georgia's most powerful offices — plus low-profile contests that could have an outsized impact.

Why it matters: Voters are picking state leaders who will decide important issues that affect their everyday lives, from energy bills to criminal justice.

Context: Georgia primaries often draw low turnout, and a small segment of voters decides who advances in crowded races.

Top races on the statewide ballot:

🏛️ Governor: Billionaire health care businessman Rick Jackson's late entrance reshaped the Republican primary, which includes Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Attorney General Chris Carr.

• On the Democratic side, a crowded field is competing to end 20-plus years of Republican rule and define the party's direction in a post-Brian Kemp era.

🥈 Lieutenant governor: Democratic state Sens. Nabilah Parkes and Josh McLaurin went from colleagues to competitors in a race to preside over the Senate.

• A crowded Republican field — including several sitting and former state senators — means the race is likely to head to a runoff.

🗳️ Secretary of state: The open-seat race for the job of Georgia's top elections official remains under great scrutiny after the 2020 elections.

• Republican candidates include Gabriel Sterling, a longtime deputy of incumbent Brad Raffensperger, and Kelvin King, a Trump supporter whose wife serves on the State Election Board.

🧑‍⚖️ Georgia Supreme Court: Georgia judicial elections are typically sleepy and nonpartisan. Not this year.

• Lawyer Miracle Rankin and former state Sen. Jen Jordan have launched coordinated challenges against Kemp-backed incumbent justices Charlie Bethel and Sarah Warren, turning the races into rare, high-stakes ideological contests.

What's next: The primary is May 19. Many of these races are likely headed to runoffs on June 16.

Tell a friend; also find your polling place and view your ballot

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More than 50,000 acres have been torched and over 100 structures have been destroyed as two massive wildfires rage in South Georgia.

The latest: The Pineland Road fire in Clinch County, located in southeast Georgia, is only 10% contained and has burned over 32,000 acres, according to numbers released Sunday by the Georgia Forestry Commission.

• In Brantley County, the Highway 82 fire has eaten away more than 20,000 acres and just 7% of the blaze is contained.
• Gov. Brian Kemp said Friday in a press conference it's believed that fire began April 20 when a balloon landed on a power line and created a spark.
• The forestry commission said the Pineland Road fire was started when a stray spark from a welding project fell to the ground in the forest.

By the numbers: At least 87 structures have been destroyed by the Highway 82 fire and another 35 have been ravaged due to the Pineland Road blaze, according to the AP.

Catch up quick: Kemp last week declared a state of emergency for 91 counties in central and south Georgia.

• Kemp said he knows it's "aggravating for people" to not be able to burn debris in their yards, but complying with the ban will help preserve resources.
• "Any fire that breaks out that we have to go chase ... takes resources away from us dealing with these devastating fires that potentially can burn another home," he said.

The big picture: Kemp said the two wildfires in Georgia have been ranked the most dangerous in the country, and "we believe these two fires have created the most lost homes in the history of our state."

What we're watching: There's not enough rain in the forecast over the next few days — or even through July — to make a dent in the wildfires, Forestry Commission director Johnny Sabo said.

• "One thing that I cannot stress enough is even if we receive an inch of rain, these fires aren't even close to [being] out," he said, later adding "it is going to take...8 to 10 inches [of rain] before we can walk away from these fires."

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The New York Knicks tied their playoff series against the Hawks 2-2 with Saturday's win at State Farm Arena.

What's next: The teams play the fifth game of the series tomorrow at Madison Square Garden.

Editor's note: This item has been corrected to say it's the fifth (not final) game.

🍔 Switchman Hall, a new food hall in Peoplestown along the Atlanta Beltline, sits on the edge of a potential new development boom in southeast Atlanta. (AJC)

⚖️ Three Emory University professors are suing the school, claiming their free speech rights were infringed on during a 2024 campus protest of the Israel-Hamas conflict. (AP)

💵 Invest Atlanta awarded $2 million to build the Andrew Young International Institute for Peace and Reconciliation in Vine City. (Rough Draft)

🧑‍⚖️ A federal judge sentenced Karen Bennett, a former state representative charged with pandemic fraud, to repay more than $13,000. (Fox 5)