Welcome to ElectFayette, a Forum for 2008 Elections in Fayette County, Georgia

EARLY VOTING NOW AVAILABLE. See number four below or contact the elections office (number below) for more information.

This wiki has been established to provide a central information point for election information.  Click on the folders to the right to get information about specific local races.  To request that information be added, please send an e-mail to the "contact the owner" link below.   Anonymous requests will not be posted.  Only factual information that is verified by documentation will be accepted.  Links to candidate web sites are not an endorsement of the information on those web sites.  This site is provided as a public service for the community.  This material is provided as a general reference.  Specific information should be verified by accessing the Georgia Elections Code which is available on the Secretary of State website: www.sos.state.ga.us/elections

IMPORTANT NEWS ABOUT THE UPCOMING ELECTIONS

1.  Fayette County is dominated by the Republican Party.  In fact, for all the local positions up for re-election this year, only republicans have qualified.

2.  What does this mean?   Many people assume that the "real" election is in November.  But when you only have candidates from one party who have qualified, the outcome of the primary determines who goes on the ballot in November.  The end result could very well be one name on the November ballot for each elected office.

3.  The July 15 primary then becomes of utmost importance.  If you want to make a difference in the governance of our community, now is the time to find out about the candidates and who you want to support.  (Check the "events" folder on the right for scheduled candidate events which will be updated as information is submitted.)

4.  Although voting is officially on July 15, there are two alternatives.  One is absentee voting.  The other option is early voting which is offered the week prior to July 15.  Voting locations are at the Fayette County elections office, and the Peachtree, Tyrone, and Fayette County Libraries.

5.  There is still time for third party candidates to qualify.  The person seeking to run must obtain signatures equal to 10% of the registered voters (about 3,200 for a Fayette County Board of Education post, for example).  Third party candidates qualify the week of June 23 and appear on the November ballot.  Write-in candidates for the November ballot have until Sept. 2 to file a notice of intention and then must file an affidavit within seven days to verify the notice and publication in the local newspaper (legal organ).  Contact the board of elections for specific requirements and verification of this information. 

6.  Even if you are not a republican, you can still vote in the primary.  Georgia is an open primary state.  You just need to indicate that you will be voting on the republican ticket when you sign in to vote.  For additional information, see www.fairvote.org/?page=1801.  See one local citizen's comments about why non-republicans may want to vote in the republican primary at www.thecitizen.com/~citizen0/node/29234#comment-78142.

Check out the ballots links below to see which offices are on the republican versus democratic primary ballots.  If there is an Aug. 5 run-off election, you must vote for the same party you chose for the July primary.  For the November election, you will be able to vote for people in both parties. 

7.  In order to win a primary, a candidate must get 50% plus 1 vote.  In a party run-off or general election, whoever gets the most votes wins.

SAMPLE JULY PRIMARY BALLOTS:  www.fayettecounty.ga.gov

LOCAL VOTING INFORMATION:  www.fayettecountyga.gov/elections/index.asp

     This site provides absentee and other voting forms, voting precincts information, a polling place locator, and more.

     Elections Office Information: 770-305-5140   bjones@fayettecounty.ga.gov

LOCAL PARTY INFORMATION:

     www.fayettecountygop.org - Republican Party

     www.fayettedemocrat.com -  Democratic Party

BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON AMERICAN POLITICAL PARTIES

     http://politics1.com/parties.htm

A good general resource for election information is the Secretary of State website: www.sos.state.ga.us/elections