Qualifying Underway for Local, State Elections

Qualifying for local and state races for the May primary in Georgia gets underway today.

Stephens County Registrar Bill Cochran said that candidates wishing to qualify for local offices as either a Democratic or a Republican candidate will qualify with his office in the Stephens County Courthouse Annex on Tugalo Street in downtown Toccoa beginning this morning.

“Qualifying begins March 7 at 9 a.m. at the Registrar’s Office,” said Cochran. “Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, it goes from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Registrar’s Office and March 11, it ends at noon.”

Those local elected offices that qualifying is taking place for at the Stephens County Registrar’s Office include the Stephens County Commission Posts 2 and 3 held by Debbie Whitlock and Dennis Bell respectively, as well as the Stephens County constitutional officer posts including Sheriff, Tax Commissioner, Clerk of Court, Coroner, Probate Judge, Magistrate Judge, and Solicitor.

Also qualifying this week at the Registrar’s Office are candidates for three Stephens County Board of Education posts. They are the At-Large post held by Tony Crunkleton, the District 3, Post 2 seat held by Jim Ledford, and the currently open District 1, Post 1 seat that was formerly held by Dr. Elizabeth Pinkerton.

Anyone can qualify for the At-Large post. However, anyone qualifying for either of the District seats on the school board must live in the district in which they are qualifying.

Again, the Stephens County Registrar’s Office is handling both Democratic and Republican qualifying for those local offices.

Each race does have a qualifying fee that varies based on the position that someone is qualifying for.

For more information on local qualifying, contact the Stephens County Registrar’s Office at 706-886-8954.

Meanwhile, qualifying for state level offices like State Representative, State Senate, Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney, U.S. Representative, and others must qualify in Atlanta.