A roll of stickers sit on a table as people vote during the Georgia primary at the Metropolitan Library on May 24, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Georgia voters have less than one week left to change or update their voter registration ahead of this fall’s statewide and municipal elections.
Peach State residents can register to vote ahead of the Oct. 6 registration deadline by going online to the secretary of state’s website or by mailing a voter registration application to the secretary of state’s office. Residents can also fill out voter registration paperwork as part of the application for a Georgia driver’s license, and the state Department of Driver Services will transfer the application to the secretary of state’s office.
Georgia voters who need to change or update their existing voter registration can do so online through the secretary of state’s My Voter Page tool.
The Nov. 4 election is set to include candidates for two seats on the state’s five-member Public Service Commission, the body that regulates utilities like Georgia Power and plays an important role in deciding how much Georgians pay for services like electricity and gas.
In District 2, which spans a plethora of east Georgia counties, Democrat Alicia M. Johnson is aiming to unseat Republican incumbent Commissioner Tim Echols, who has been a member of the commission since 2011. In District 3, which encompasses Clayton, DeKalb and Fulton counties, Democrat Peter Hubbard will face off against incumbent Commissioner Fitz Johnson, a Republican who was appointed to the seat in 2021. The candidates are required to live in their districts, but the seats are elected statewide.
Notably, the November election will be the first time commissioners have faced voters since 2020. Regularly scheduled PSC elections were delayed after a 2020 lawsuit challenged the statewide electoral process and its impact on Black voters. The lawsuit is currently pending with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, according to attorney Bryan Sells, who represents the plaintiffs.
The Public Service Commission election will be the only statewide office on the ballot this fall, but some cities and towns are also scheduled to hold municipal elections for offices like mayor, city council, and school board representatives.
But at least one notable election will not be on the Nov. 4 ballot: Sen. Jason Esteves, an Atlanta Democrat who is running for governor of Georgia, recently announced that he is resigning from the state Senate to focus on his gubernatorial bid. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has set the special election to replace him for Nov. 18, meaning that voters in parts of Fulton and Cobb counties may have to go to the polls at least twice this election season.
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