Gilmer County voters will go to the polls Nov. 5 to cast ballots for a new Post 1 Commissioner to finish the unfulfilled term of Dallas Miller.
“We can’t really call for a special election until after Sept. 13,” said Gilmer County Probate Judge and Election Superintendent Scott Chastain. The notice for the special election should appear in next week’s Times-Courier.
All qualifiers will be on the same ballot and have the option of identifying a party affiliation, he said.
If a candidate receives a margin of 50 percent plus one vote, he or she will be sworn in and assume office as soon as the election is certified.
If no candidate gets the majority, the two candidates with the most vote totals will appear in a runoff Dec. 3. Again, the winner will take the seat as soon as the election is certified and they are sworn into office.
“I anticipate, unless there is some kind of major something go wrong, this person will be sworn in to office prior to the first of the year,” Chastain said.
Like a regular election, polls will open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. Early voting will start Oct. 15 and run for three weeks with no weekend voting.
Qualifying for candidates will start at 9 a.m. Sept. 23 and run until noon Sept. 25. The fee for qualifying is $213.76.
Because this is a special election, all qualifying will be done through the probate office, Chastain said.
Citizens have until Oct. 7 to register to vote in the election, if they are not already registered.
This is a separate election from the Ellijay City Council election, so city voters will have to go through two different processes to cast ballots, one for the city and one for the county.
“It’s just two different methods,” Chastain said.
The unexpired term ends Dec. 31, 2020. Qualifying for the seat will be held again in March.
The last special election for commissioner was held in 2013 when Miller won.
According to the Gilmer County Charter, last amended in 2004, an election must be held to fulfill the rest of the commission term if more than six months remain.
The old voting machines will be used for this special election.
“The new machines will go into effect by the presidential primary in March,” Chastain said.