Votes trickle in for low-turnout Georgia Public Service Commission primaries 

Cobb County voter Barry Paulk stopped by the West Cobb Regional Library Tuesday afternoon to pick up a copy of Polling the novel by Tom Perrotta When he walked through the front doors a poll manager reminded him that there s a Constituents System Commission vote going on right now and petitioned if he needed to vote Familiar with the commission s regulatory duties and a modern court scenario challenging the method used to elect commissioners he decided why not I figured well I m pretty happy with how things are now so might as well vote for the incumbents Paulk explained Paulk is one of a handful of early voters who have already cast their votes in the primary elections underway for a pair of Masses Function Commission seats For the first time since voters are electing representatives for both District in the eastern part of the state and District in metro Atlanta All registered voters in Georgia are eligible to vote for each commissioner no matter where they live Incumbent Commissioner Tim Echols is running for reelection in District He is challenged by Lee Muns on the Republican ballot The winner will go on to face Democratic candidate Alicia M Johnson in the fall In District appointed Commissioner Fitz Johnson is the only candidate on the Republican ballot There are at this moment four Democratic candidates hoping to win the party nomination Candidates include Peter Hubbard Robert Jones and Keisha Sean Waites Daniel Blackman is the fourth candidate who is at this time fighting to appeal a residency based disqualificationEarly voting is available through June Voter registration polling places and sample ballots can all be checked online at the Georgia Secretary of State s My Voter Page Traditionally the commission has a staggered vote schedule and each commissioner serves a six-year term This year s polling was delayed after a lawsuit challenged the statewide nature of the vote arguing the process diluted the voting strength of Black voters Despite the ability to vote across the state voter turnout remains relatively low So far voter turnout sits at According to the Secretary of State s content hub this accounts for about voters Fred Bentley was more of an intentional voter who made time to cast his ballot Bentley stated he was Cobb County s first in-house attorney to represent the condemning government that were influential in shaping Georgia s eminent domain laws and even helped write Kennesaw s famous mandatory gun ownership law and he reported those experiences have made him a firm believer in the power and privilege of voting I believe that it s an key part of our democracy and our republic that I come out and vote Bentley stated He indicated up to the polls wearing a blue suit and a red tie to proudly cast his vote Even with the personal satisfaction of voting Bentley reported he walked away from the polls with a sense of sadness Not a lot of people have voted Bentley noted And that s a disappointment David Chastain a member of the Cobb County School Board was headed out of town with his luggage packed when he stopped by the polls to cast his vote Wednesday afternoon As a close follower of the regulatory panel Chastain commented the commission does a lot of work the average voter may not understand He is happy with how the current commissioners have operated I do believe that people should participate in the political process Chastain mentioned I understand the people who say they don t want to vote Okay that s fine but the rest of us are going to voice our opinions at the ballot box Voters have been vocal about various issues surrounding this year s poll Selected are crooning the praises of incumbents while others question if the all-GOP panel has done enough to combat rising utility rates and be a check on the state s largest electric utility Georgia Power Confusion has also lingered for a few voters amid Democratic candidate Daniel Blackman s prospective disqualification Blackman s name is set to remain on the ballot while a Fulton County judge considers Blackman s appeal of a flourishing challenge to his residency within District A hearing is set for June and the shadow hanging over his candidacy has forced chosen to rethink their polling choices Alida and Garland Miller an older couple who say they reliably vote in the PSC primaries came to the polls with concerns this year Familiar with the latest lawsuit the couple is unsatisfied with the statewide electoral process I feel like we might have the opportunity for a more responsive representative than we now have Alida Miller declared I feel like the ones that we have right now don t really care If they knew they could be voted out by the people in the area that they represent they might pay a little bit more attention to the wishes of the actual electorate and not just to big business and the power companies When sought if they agreed with the lawsuit arguing that the statewide voting process dilutes the voices of Black voters they straightaway answered yes in unison Georgians still hoping to participate in early voting have the opportunity to do so through Friday June and the official balloting day will follow on June If no one receives at least of the vote this month a runoff voting process will be held on July Primary winners will advance to the general polling on Nov The post Votes trickle in for low-turnout Georgia Populace Organization Commission primaries appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta