Upson County officials set Nov. 4 special election, approve single precinct for July runoff

Upson County officials voted during a meeting to call a special election and several municipal primary contests for Nov. 4, 2025, set qualifying and registration deadlines, and approved consolidating a July Democratic runoff to a single precinct at the Civic Center.

The special election will fill a vacancy in the office of judge of the probate court of Upson County; qualifying for that race is scheduled for Aug. 18–20, 2025, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day, and the county set the voter registration deadline for the special election at the close of business on Oct. 6, 2025. Officials said advanced (early) voting will occur in October, and polls on election day will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The meeting included separate notices calling primary elections in the City of Thomaston — to fill vacancies for mayor pro tem and council members in Districts 3 and 4 — and in the City of Yatesville for three council seats. Officials said those city contests are nonpartisan; the probate contest is nonpartisan as well. The board noted that if only one person qualifies for a seat the city will not need to hold an election for that seat and the candidate will assume the office.

Officials also discussed runoff mechanics. Speaker 2 (an unidentified board member) explained that if no candidate for the probate judgeship receives more than 50% of the vote, a runoff will be required. In a separate item, meeting participants agreed to consolidate polling for a Democratic runoff in District 3 to a single precinct at the Civic Center, citing low past turnout in some precincts. Speaker 3 (an unidentified elections staff member) described efforts to notify likely voters in smaller precincts — including Salem — and said poll workers would post notices and reach out at local churches; Speaker 3 also said one poll worker, identified in the meeting as Emma James, offered to help with local outreach.

The motion to call the elections “as stated” was moved and seconded and passed by voice vote. Later, a motion that the July Democratic runoff use a single precinct (the Civic Center) with one week of early voting — July 7–11 — was made, seconded and approved; Speaker 1 (an unidentified county official) called for the vote and the motion passed. The board recorded the vote with the customary “Aye” voice response.

Officials set a follow-up meeting for certification of the July election results, naming July 21, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. as the likely date for that certification meeting and said they will confirm the location and any changes. The meeting concluded with a motion to adjourn that passed by voice vote.

Discussion versus action: the transcript records explanatory discussion about deadlines, qualifying procedures, and outreach, directions to post notices and announce the precinct consolidation on the radio for two weeks before the runoff, and formal votes to call the elections and to designate the Civic Center as the single runoff precinct. The transcript does not include any county statute or ordinance citations; procedural rules referenced were described generically (for example, qualifying periods, registration deadlines, and runoff rules).