Early General Election voting begins today
By SARAH FAY CAMPBELLsarah@newnan.com
The Nov. 6 general election is almost three weeks away, and early voting begins Monday.
All Cowetans who are registered to vote can cast their ballots early, in person, at the Coweta County Voter Registration Office in downtown Newnan during early voting.
The office is located at 22 East Broad Street in downtown Newnan, in the Coweta County Administration Building.
Voters must bring a photo ID to cast their ballots. Acceptable IDs include a Georgia driver’s license, even if expired, a valid state photo ID, a valid U.S. passport, a valid tribal or military ID, a valid state identification card, or a valid work ID with photo issued by any branch of federal, state, or local government.
You can also vote early with a paper absentee ballot, which is mailed to your home. Ballots can be mailed as late as the Friday before the election, but it’s best not to wait until the last minute, to make sure you have time to receive your ballot and get it filled out and returned by 7 p.m. on election night.
To request an absentee ballot, call the Coweta Voter Registration Office at 770-254-2615 or e-mail jhamilton@coweta.ga.us . Or visit the Georgia Secretary of State’s elections website at www.sos.georgia.gov/elections .
You can check your voter registration status, get directions to your polling place, and even view your custom sample ballot online at www.sos.georgia.gov/mvp .
The biggest race on the ballot is, of course, the president of the United States. On Georgia ballots, voters will get to choose from Democrat Barak Obama, Republican Mitt Romney, or Libertarian Gary Johnson.
The second most publicized item on the ballot is not a race but a constitutional amendment. Amendment One deals with the state’s power to approve and fund charter schools that were rejected by local school boards. A second constitutional amendment would grant certain state agencies the ability to enter into multi-year rental agreements.
Locally, there is a contested race for the Fifth District Seat on the Coweta County Commission and the District 132 seat in the Georgia House of Representatives.
Incumbent Coweta Commissioner Al Smith, a Democrat, is being challenged by Republican Hayden Marlowe.
And incumbent State Rep. Carl Von Epps, D-LaGrange, is being challenged by Republican Gene King of Meriwether County. District 132 covers a portion of Coweta, including the Grantville, Smokey Road, Pine Road, and Central voting precincts.
Coweta now has four state representatives instead of two, following redistricting. The two incumbents, Lynn Smith, R-Newnan, and Matt Ramsey, R-Peachtree City, had no opposition. The third seat, formerly held by Billy Horne, R-Sharpsburg, was won in the Republican primary by Robert Stokely, R-Sharpsburg.
There are also two state-wide races for seats on the Georgia Public Service Commission. PSC Commissioners must live in the district they run in, but are all voted on statewide. The PSC regulates certain Georgia utilities and other regulated industries such as movers and limousine services.
Incumbent Republican Chuck Eaton is being challenged by Democrat Stephen Oppenheimer and Libertarian Brad Ploeger. In the other case incumbent Republican Stan Wise is being challenged by Libertarian David Staples.
