Several state races and one federal contest failed to produce majority vote winners in the May 19 General Primary Elections and will therefore be heading to Primary Runoff Elections set for next Tuesday, June 16, with a short early voting period this week that ends on Friday.
All in-person early voting is taking place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. inside the Union County Voting Center at 33 Roscoe Collins Drive, located across from Union County High School off the Glenn Gooch Bypass.
As with the General Primary Elections, voters must select either a Republican or Democratic ballot for the runoffs. There is also a Federal Only ballot available for the GOP runoff, to include the single race for U.S. Senate.
GOP runoff races in Union County include Mike Jones and Derek Dooley for U.S. Senate; Burt Jones and Rick Jackson for Governor; John F. Kennedy and Greg Dolezal for Lieutenant Governor; Tim Fleming and Vernon Jones for Secretary of State; Richard Woods and Fred “Bubba” Longgrear for State School Superintendent; Josh Tolbert and Bobby Mehan for Georgia Public Service Commission District 5; and Philip Milam and Will Wade for State Senate District 51.
Democratic runoff races in Union County are Josh McLaurin and Nabilah Parkes for Lieutenant Governor; Penny Brown Reynolds and Dana Barrett for Secretary of State; Keisha Sean Waites and DeAndre Mathis for Commissioner of Insurance; and Nikki Porcher and Michelle Michi Sanchez for Commissioner of Labor.
Whoever wins these runoffs will go on to face the opposing party candidate in their race during the General Election this November.
The deadline to request mail-in ballots was June 5. These ballots can be returned using the official Voting Center drop box during early voting hours; mailed back in plenty of time to be counted after polls close on Election Day; or dropped off at the Voting Center through 7 p.m. Election Day.
Voters who decide to wait until Election Day to cast their runoff ballots will need to head to their predetermined voting precincts between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on June 16.
Union County has 11 voting precincts: Blairsville, Jones Creek, Choestoe, Owltown, Coosa, Pat Colwell, Dooley, Suches, Gum Log, Trackrock and Ivy Log.
As a reminder, the Blairsville Precinct has permanently changed to the Multipurpose Gym located right next door to the Voting Center, as has the Trackrock Precinct, which moved this year after the original polling location was deemed unsafe due to a dilapidated facility.
Residents may visit https://mvp.sos.ga.gov for mail-in ballot status, poll location, registration information on file with the county, sample ballots for upcoming elections, provisional ballot status and more.
The deadline to register for participation in the June 16 primary runoffs was April 20, and the voter registration deadline for the Nov. 3 General Election is Oct. 5.
People with questions are asked to call the Union County Board of Registrar’s Office at 706-439-6016.




