Atlanta, GA

2024 Georgia primary election: What to know before voting in metro Atlanta

Published

2 years ago

May 6, 2024

2024 Georgia primary election: What to know before voting in metro Atlanta

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ATLANTA, GEORGIA – NOVEMBER 04: Voting stickers are seen as people cast their ballot during early voting for the midterm elections at Ponce De Leon Library on November 04, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. Long lines were seen at several polling locations in (Getty Images)

FULTON COUNTY, Ga. – Voters will vote for candidates in several critical races in the general primary/nonpartisan election on May 21 in the state of Georgia.

Georgia is an “open primary” state, which means you can choose the party’s ballot you wish to vote. In a primary election, if a candidate does not get the majority of the votes (50%+1), there will be a primary runoff election a few weeks after the primary election.

ALL ELECTION STORIES

New maps for this year

Georgia has new congressional and state district electoral maps this year. The new maps resulted in one majority Black seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, 5 new majority-Black districts in the state House and two in the state Senate. Click here to see the new maps.

GA My Voter Page

Head to the Secretary of State’s website to check your voter registration status and find early voting locations, poll location and more.

Registration deadline

The voter registration deadline is 30 days before the election. If you are not already registered to vote, it is too late to do so for the election on May 21.

Early Voting

Early voting began April 28 and ends May 17, with Saturday voting happening on May 4 and 11. You can find a complete list of qualified candidates on the Secretary of State’s website.

Request an absentee ballot

Absentee voting is available and no excuse is required. Absentee ballots can be returned via mail or in person. Ballots must be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day in order to be counted. The deadline to request an absentee ballot is May 10. Click here to request a ballot.

Georgians urged to request absentee ballots early due to mail delays

Election Day voting

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. May 21. Any voter who is waiting in line at 7 p.m. will be allowed to vote. You can find your polling place by visiting the GA My Voter page.

Time off for voting

Employers must grant employees 2 hours of paid leave to vote, unless polls are open 2 hours before or after regular working shift.

Most watched races

Some of the most watched races include the congressional races in the 13th District and 6th District. Incumbent David Scott is facing 6 challengers in the 13th District, which is Atlanta’s southern and eastern suburbs.

Early voting begins for Georgia’s May primary, judicial elections

U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath jumped from the 7th District to run in the 6th District and she is being challenged by fellow Democrats Mandisha Thomas, a state representative, and Jerie Richardson, a Cobb County commissioner.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who has been in the national spotlight because of her prosecution of former President Donald Trump, is being challenged by attorney Christian Wise Smith. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, who is the presiding judge in the Trump case, is being challenged by lawyer and talk show host Robert Patillo.

RELATED STORIES

There are also a few sheriff races that may prove to be interesting.

Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat is facing 3 challengers — James “JT” Brown, Joyce Farmer and Kirt Beasley.

And in Clayton County, incumbent Levon Allen is being challenged by Charlene Watson-Fraser, Clarence Edward Cox and Jeffrey Turner.

Henry County Sheriff Reginald Scandrett is facing 6 challengers — Adrian Washington, Curtis Steven Farmer, Cornell “CJ” Madison Jr., Walter J. Woodfork, WIllie Brown and John Lee Redlinger.

Runoff election

If there is a runoff election, it will take place June 18. The deadline to request an absentee ballot will be June 10. Early or advance voting will begin on June 10 and the last day for early/advance voting will be June 14.

In Fulton County, voters will be voting on candidates for 3 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, 10 seats in the Georgia Senate, 22 seats in the Georgia House of Representatives, Fulton County District Attorney, Fulton County Tax Commissioner, Fulton County Solicitor General, 3 Fulton County Commission seats, 7 Fulton County State Court judge seats, Fulton County Probate Judge, 3 Fulton County Board of Education seats, and more.

Democratic Composite Ballot
Nonpartisan Composite Ballot
Republican Composite Ballot

RELATED STORIES

Poll shows first look at key Fulton County races

In DeKalb County, voters will be voting on candidates for Clerk for Superior Court, Chief Magistrate, Chief Executive Officer, four County Commissioner seats, DeKalb County Sheriff, tax commissioner, multiple judge seats, and four seats on the Board of Education.

List of qualified candidates

In Gwinnett County, voters will be voting on candidates for 4 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, 8 seats in the Georgia Senate, 20 seats in the Georgia House of Representatives, District Attorney, Clerk of Gwinnett County Superior Court, Gwinnett County Sheriff, tax commissioner, two Board of Commissioners seats, 4 Georgia Supreme Court justice seats, 7 Georgia Appeals Court judge seats, 6 Gwinnett County Superior Court judge seats, 5 Gwinnett County State Court judge seats, chief magistrate, 3 Board of Education seats and more.

All the sample ballots

In Cobb County, voters will be voting on candidates for 3 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, 6 seats in the Georgia Senate, 16 seats in the Georgia House of Representatives, Cobb County Clerk of State Court, Cobb County Clerk of Superior Court, 2 Board of Commissioiners seats, Cobb County Sheriff, Cobb County District Attorney, 4 Georgia Supreme Court seats, 7 Georgia Appeals Court judge seats, Cobb County Probate Judge, Cobb County Chief Magistrate and more.

Democratic sample ballot
Republican sample ballot
Nonpartisan sample ballot
Kennesaw Special Sample Ballot

In Clayton County, voters wil be voting on candidates for 2 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, 3 seats in the Georgia Senate, 6 seats in the Georgia House of Representatives, District Attorney, Probate Judge, Clerk of Superior Court, Clayton County Sheriff, Tax Commissioner, Chief Magistrate, Solicitor General, 2 Board of Commissioner seats, 5 Board of Education seats, 4 Georgia Supreme Court judge seats, 3 Clayton County Superior Court judge seats and more.

Democratic sample ballot
Republican sample ballot
Nonpartisan sample ballot

OTHER METRO ATLANTA COUNTIES

Cherokee County

Douglas County
Fayette County

Forsyth County

Henry County
Rockdale County

PRIMARY BALLOT QUESTIONS

There will also be 8 non-binding ballot questions designed to gauge public opinion on different issues and policies on the ballots on May 21. Additionally, counties may add questions based on local priorities.

Democratic questions

Should the United States and the State of Georgia protect Georgians from gun violence by banning assault weapons and large-capacity magazines, closing background check loopholes, and passing other common-sense gun safety reforms?
Should the State of Georgia incentivize clean energy production as part of a climate policy that recognizes the urgent threat that climate change poses to Georgians’ health, lives and future?
Should the State of Georgia expand voter access by allowing same-day voter registration, removing obstacles to voting by mail, and making secure ballot drop boxes accessible at all times through Election Day?
Should the State of Georgia protect reproductive freedom by repealing the current six-week abortion ban, restoring the protections of Roe v. Wade and ensuring access to contraceptives, IVF, abortion and other reproductive health care?
Should the State of Georgia stop using taxpayer dollars intended for public education to pay for private school vouchers?
Should the State of Georgia raise the minimum wage to a living wage?
Should the portion of the Georgia state constitution allowing for involuntary servitude of prisoners and others convicted of offenses be repealed, thus prohibiting all forms of slavery and involuntary servitude statewide?
Should the State of Georgia improve access to safe, affordable housing by increasing the affordable housing supply, protecting tenants’ rights to habitable living conditions, and cracking down on negligence or abuse by property management companies or landlords?

Republican questions

For future elections, do you want hand marked paper ballots, scanned and verified by hand count on live stream video?
Should the legislature enact the FairTax replacing the state income tax and state sales tax with a consumption tax equal to current state funding and taxing no legal citizen or family up to the poverty level of spending?
Should the legislature ban registered lobbyists from serving on the State Elections Board?
Should the Georgia Republican Primary have a closed primary, meaning that only registered Republicans would be allowed to vote in the Republican Primary?
Should public officials who allow illegal migration to occur be held responsible for crimes committed by illegal aliens?
Would you support a statewide vote to allow gaming in Georgia so the voters can decide this issue instead of politicians in Atlanta?
Currently, hundreds of thousands of hours and dollars are spent every year cleaning up voter rolls. Would you support an amendment to the National Voting Rights Act that would require registered voters to renew their registration every four years?
Do you believe unelected and unaccountable international bureaucrats, like the UN controlled World Health Organization (WHO), should have complete control over management of future pandemics in the United States and authority to regulate your healthcare and personal health choices?

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Atlanta, GA

Jackets Fall to Sooners in Game 6 of Atlanta Regional

Published

3 hours ago

June 1, 2026

Press Room

Jackets Fall to Sooners in Game 6 of Atlanta Regional

THE FLATS – No. 2 Georgia Tech baseball (50-10) dropped its first game of the NCAA Atlanta Regional on Sunday night, falling 15-8 to Oklahoma. The Yellow Jackets saw four home runs in the outing and jumped out with the early lead, but the Sooners overcame the deficit to force game seven on Monday.

Georgia Tech plated its first two batters of the game as Carson Kerce drew a 4-0 leadoff walk and Drew Burress sent his at bat 397 feet deep to left field, putting Tech up 2-0 in the first and forcing Oklahoma to make a call to the bullpen early.

The Sooners tied the game at 2-2 off a two-run home run from Brendan Brock in the bottom of the second, but a five-spot from the Jackets in the fifth returned the lead to Tech. A bases loaded wild pitch scored Kerce and setup a two-run RBI single up the middle from Ryan Zuckerman for a 5-2 lead. Alex Hernandez found his fourth home run of the regional in the next at bat, clearing the bases and putting Tech in front, 8-2.

Jarren Advincula cushioned Tech’s lead with a sac fly in the fourth, scoring Kerce for a 9-2 lead, but Oklahoma erased its deficit and took the lead with an eight-run fourth inning for a 10-8 edge. The Sooners would add another five runs for the final score.

Georgia Tech and Oklahoma will meet in the rubbermatch on Monday for a spot in the NCAA Super Regional. First pitch is set for 3 pm and television designation will be announced soon.

QUICK HITS: TEAM

GT will face Oklahoma again, tomorrow at 3 pm in a winner-take-all game seven of the Atlanta Regional.
This is the 5^th time in program history the Jackets will be playing in a 2-1 vs 2-1 game after starting the regional 2-0, GT is 2-2 in such games (wins in 1994 and 2005 / losses in 2008 and 2010).
The Jackets fall to 50-10, the best 60-game record in program history, two games better than the previous record (48-12 – 1987).
The Jackets will be looking to advance to the Super Regional round for the sixth time in program history and the first since 2006.
GT is now 3-2 against the SEC this season with wins over Auburn, Georgia and Oklahoma.
The Jackets are outscoring SEC opponents 46-35 this season.
Tech has scored 655 runs this season, the most runs scored through 60 games in program history and the most scored by any Power 4 team through 60 games in the BBCOR era.
GT’s 655 runs are the second-most in school history, seven behind the program record set back in 1987 (662). The Jackets are two runs away from setting a new NCAA record for runs in a single season in the BBCOR era – a record currently held by Tennessee (657 runs in 73 games in 2024).
The Jackets hit two home runs today, bringing the regional total to 12 and the season total of 137 – 15 more than the previous program record set back in 2010.
Tech has hit multiple home runs in all three regional games this season and 15 of their last 16 games dating back to April 28.
GT is outscoring its opponents 655-297 this season. The plus-358 margin is the largest in Division I this season and the largest in program history.
Tech’s offense is currently on pace to set program records in batting average (.357 – record is .347), on-base percentage (.468 – record is .434), slugging percentage (.640 – record is .575) and runs-per-game (10.9 – record is 10.3).
The offense has scored eight or more runs in each of the last 14 games dating back to May 3.
The Yellow Jackets are closing in on multiple NCAA records for a single season: two runs away from the BBCOR era record (Tennessee – 657 – 73 games in 2024), 19 hits away from the BBCOR era record (Vanderbilt – 770 – 71 games in 2019) and 18 doubles away from the BBCOR era record (Morehead St. / Virginia – 172 – 2015 / 2023) and 30 walks away from the BBCOR era record (Wake Forest – 424 – 66 games in 2023).
Tech’s .357 average would be a new BBCOR era Power 4 record (NCAA record is .359 by Austin Peay in 2024).
Tech’s .468 OBP would be a new BBCOR era Power 4 record (NCAA record is .469 by New Mexico State in 2019).
Tech’s .640 slugging percentage would be a new BBCOR era Power 4 record (NCAA record is .661 by Austin Peay in 2024).
GT pitching struck out 10 batters, marking the 26th game with at least 10 Ks this season.

QUICK HITS: THE BATS

Junior Drew Burress extended his on-base streak to 23 games with a 3-for-5 showing. He hit a two-run home run to open the scoring in the first inning, his program record 59^th career homer.
Burress becomes the first Power conference player of the 21^st century to deliver 40 extra base hits in three consecutive seasons (43 in 2024, 43 in 2025 and 40 in 2026). He is just the second Division I player to do so this century, also DJ Peterson (New Mexico) 2011-13.
Buress has hit 15 home runs this season, becoming just the second Yellow Jacket in program history to deliver three consecutive 15 HR seasons, along with Tony Plagman (2008-10).
He has now scored 231 runs in his career, the most of any active DI player and just one away from tying Darren Bragg (1988-91) for the fourth most in program history.
Burress holds the GT BBCOR era records for the most runs (231), RBI (187), doubles (61), home runs (59) and total bases (499). He is one base away from becoming just the fourth Jacket to ever collect 500 total bases – also Andy Bruce (506: 1988-91), Tony Plagman (513: 2007-10) and Jason Varitek (610: 1991-94).
His 187 RBI rank 12^th all-time at Georgia Tech, seven shy of cracking the Top 10.
Sophomore Alex Hernandez continued his exceptional regional, hitting a two-run home run as a part of Tech’s five-run third inning.
It was his fourth HR of the regional and 13^th of the season. Nearly two-thirds of his home runs this season (30.8 %) have come in the last three games of regional play.
Hernandez has recorded 19 RBI in his last six games, producing at least one in all six postseason games to this point.
He has now produced 21 RBI in six career NCAA tournament games – 3.5 per game.
He is up to 57 RBI this season and 126 over his career: the fourth highest RBI total by an undergraduate in GT history behind only Burress (129), Matt Weiters (139) and Mark Teixeira (program record – 145).
Junior Carson Kerce scored three runs in the leadoff spot, tying his season high for the fifth time. He has scored multiple runs in 18 games this season, the fifth most on the team.
Junior Ryan Zuckerman delivered a pair of RBI today, taking over the team lead with 79 RBI this season, the 11^th most in program history.
Zuckerman (79) and Vahn Lackey (78) are inching closer to becoming just the third duo in GT history to drive in 80 RBI in the same season, currently only accomplished by Jason Basil (83) and Mark Teixeira (80) in 2000 and Riccardo Ingram (99) and Mike Fowler (87) in 1987.
Lackey scored his team leading 85^th run of the season tonight, his 85 runs scored are the 6^th most in program history for a single season and the most recorded since Mark Teixeira set the program record (104) back in 2000.
Junior Jarren Advincula extended his hitting streak to a career best 28 games, tied with Carlton Fleming (1990) for the 2nd longest in program history and the longest since Victor Menocal set the record (30) in 2002.
He has delivered 108 hits this season, the fourth most in program history and the most since 2000 (Richard Lewis – 109).
He has gotten a hit in 43 of his last 44 games dating back to March 10 and 56 of 60 games overall this season.
His batting average now stands at .430, the highest in Power 4, the 2nd best in the nation and the 7th highest in program history. It’s the second highest batting average by a Yellow Jacket this century and the highest since Chandler Simpson hit .433 in 2022.

QUICK HITS: THE ARMS

Sophomore Jackson Blakely made his 13^th start of the season, pitching 3.0 innings before running into trouble in the fourth.
This loss snapped a 10-game winning streak in games started by Blakely this season, bringing the teams record to 10-3.
His ERA is now 3.36 over 64.1 innings of work with 69 strikeouts – all the 2^nd best on the team.
Freshman Cooper Underwood made his 13^th appearance of the season and his seventh out of the bullpen. He would give up one earned run on a solo home run. This was only the second time he has allowed a run in his seven relief appearances.
Senior Brett Barfield produced a scoreless fifth inning in his 23^rd appearance of the season. That lowered his ERA to 4.70 for the season over 23.0 innings of work.

Up Next

Georgia Tech and Oklahoma will meet in the rubbermatch on Monday for a spot in the NCAA Super Regional. First pitch is set for 3 pm and television designation will be announced soon.

Full Steam Ahead

Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.

For the latest information on the Georgia Tech baseball team, follow us on X (@GTBaseball), Facebook, Instagram (@gt_baseball) or visit us at www.ramblinwreck.com.

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Atlanta, GA

Victim, suspect identified in deadly Atlanta train stabbing

Published

13 hours ago

May 31, 2026

Press Room

Victim, suspect identified in deadly Atlanta train stabbing

article

A woman was fatally stabbed on a MARTA train near the Oakland City Station on May 30, 2026. (FOX 5)

ATLANTA – A 25-year-old man is accused of fatally stabbing an Atlanta woman on a MARTA train at the Oakland City Station on Saturday.

What we know:

John Elijah Matthews is charged with murder in the death of 66-year-old Margaret Swan.

MARTA police officers were called to the train for a stabbing around noon.

Police officers arrested Matthews immediately near the train after several witnesses saw the violent act take place. Emergency medical workers attempted life-saving efforts, but Swan died on the scene.

A woman was fatally stabbed on a MARTA train near the Oakland City Station on May 30, 2026. (FOX 5)

“This appears to be a senseless act of violence, and our thoughts are with the victim’s loved ones and those who witnessed this horrific incident,” MARTA said in an official statement. The agency stated that its police force is actively investigating the matter.

Woman stabbed to death on Atlanta MARTA train; 1 arrested

What we don’t know:

Investigators have not yet confirmed what happened in the moments leading up to the attack or whether Swan and Matthews knew each other beforehand.

Dig deeper:

Public transit passengers have expressed growing fear following the weekend killing. Another person survived a separate stabbing at the Georgia State MARTA station last weekend, leaving commuters worried about system security.

The Source: Information in this article comes from the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office and MARTA police. Additional information comes from prior FOX 5 reporting.

SW AtlantaCrime and Public SafetyNews

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Atlanta, GA

Worried about World Cup traffic? Planning, technology should help ease jams.

Published

23 hours ago

May 31, 2026

Press Room

Worried about World Cup traffic? Planning, technology should help ease jams.

Gridlock Guy

As Atlanta gets set to host the World Cup, commuters should rest easy, as the city has handled this kind of pressure before.

A MARTA billboard about World Cup traffic stands outside the Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Thursday, May 14, 2026. (Ben Hendren for the AJC)

Atlanta hosts its first of eight FIFA World Cup games June 15 and is among 16 North American cities with this honor.

An event of this magnitude requires significant planning, personnel, equipment and cooperation to go smoothly. And while Atlanta is notorious for slow traffic, the city says it is ready to host the world and has the receipts to prove it.

I sat down with Georgia Tech professor of environmental and civil engineering, Michael Hunter, to get a read on how well Atlanta should be able to move people.

“Georgia had a lot of foresight and it is paying dividends now, because they can hold an event like the World Cup, which is going to involve state coordination, city coordination, local county coordination, and they can do that,” he said.

One wise strategy was implemented at the state level in the last 10-15 years, Hunter said, as the Georgia Department of Transportation incentivized local governments to buy the same traffic signal equipment. That allows traffic lights to “talk” to each other and adjust priorities for vehicles, transit or pedestrians, based on traffic flow.

Flanked by a bank of his own traffic signal boxes and test modeling computers in his lab, Hunter explained the Summer Olympics were a turning point for Atlanta. While the 1996 Games were far from perfect, the city proved it could host the world.

The 2019 Super Bowl proved to be another revelation in A-Town.

“They learned at the Super Bowl how to get everybody to talk,” Hunter explained. “It is about the coordination.”

And, he noted, reflecting on his nearly 30 years in the field, Georgia does this better than other places he has studied.

The Atlanta Police Department recently met with reporters to detail its World Cup efforts. Officers will not be allowed to take vacation during the weeks of World Cup activities. Millions of dollars are approved for overtime. And Atlanta has a flexible and coordinated transportation plan, officials said.

Police will be at GDOT’s Traffic Management Center and at the Georgia World Congress Center ops center.

“We will also rely on Atlanta DOT, their new integrated command center, to also give us real-time information visually from the cameras around to make sure that we can make real-time decisions in a timely manner to best move traffic,” Charles Hampton Jr., deputy chief of the Atlanta police special events division, said at the Tuesday presentation.

Hampton noted that while there are no scheduled road closures for the World Cup around Mercedes-Benz Stadium, they could block streets if large crowds spill over.

Hampton said the city conducted a training exercise among multiple departments in late March and gleaned good feedback. And he said any plans have to be flexible as circumstances change.

Hunter explained the biggest World Cup traffic challenge could be the arrivals of VIPs.

“You’re going to have presidents, prime ministers, royalty — all these people coming in who don’t usually come to all these events. And they all are going to have special needs,” he said.

This could require unplanned road closures or even the removal of pedestrians from certain areas at peak times.

Navigating the events or the city itself during this unique period requires patience from all, Hunter said.

The city performed well for the 2019 Super Bowl (it is set to host it again in 2028), the 2025 MLB All-Star Game, the College Football Playoff National Championship game (2018, 2025), multiple NCAA Final Four events and multiple megabanger concerts at the Benz.

Atlanta basically has eight of these events this summer, but the city did not implode under the former examples. If drivers who do not need to be near the stadium and Centennial Olympic Park stay away, things will move even better.

Doug Turnbull covers the traffic/transportation beat for WXIA-TV (11Alive). His reports appear on the 11Alive Morning News from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and on 11Alive.com. Email Doug at dturnbull@11alive.com. Subscribe to the weekly “Gridlock Guy” newsletter for the column here.