Decatur voters can start casting ballots in person today, April 27, for the May 19 city election. Decaturish reported that early voting runs through Saturday, May 16, with the main early voting site at the DeKalb County Elections office in downtown Decatur and additional weekend hours scheduled for the final two Saturdays of the window.
The May 19 ballot is a city-only election separate from the Georgia statewide primary that runs the next day. Decatur is electing city commissioners and Decatur City Schools board members, with the school board races drawing the most local interest after a year of budget and boundary debates. Mail-in absentee ballots are already going out to voters who requested them, and Decaturish has published a voter guide with candidate questionnaires for each contested seat.
Decatur's local elections tend to see modest turnout in non-mayoral years, but the school board contests have pulled in more attention this cycle. Voters showing up in person will need a Georgia photo ID. The DeKalb Elections office sits a short walk from the Decatur MARTA station and has parking on Camp Road, which has historically helped early voting access in this part of town.
With the Decatur election on May 19 and the Georgia primary the next day, voters in DeKalb's part of Decatur effectively have two ballots in two days. Election officials expect a steady pace through the early voting window rather than a single big rush, in part because the city election ballot is short and the candidate pool well known to most regulars.
