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Cobb County elections office readies for April 29 special and June statewide primary; plans precinct relocations if July runoff coincides with All‑Star Game
Summary
Elections Director Fall outlined dates, absentee deadlines, staffing changes and a contingency to co‑locate nine precincts near Truist Park if a July 15 runoff conflicts with the Major League Baseball All‑Star Game; the board asked for site and postcard plans ahead of May 5.
Elections Director Fall briefed the board on upcoming elections, absentee-ballot deadlines and staffing as Cobb County prepares for a busy election calendar.
The county’s next election is a special general on April 29 for Commission Districts 2 and 4. Absentee-by-mail (ABM) application deadline for that election is Friday, April 18; advance in-person (AIP) voting begins Saturday, April 19. The statewide Public Service Commission (PSC) primary is June 17; because PSC races are statewide, all registered voters will receive PSC contests on their ballots. The county expects a likely Democratic runoff for the District 3 PSC seat on July 15.
Director Fall said municipal contracts for six of seven cities for the November municipal elections will be ready for the May 5 meeting. She gave up-to-date ABM counts for the April election: roughly 200 applications received as of the morning report, 150 accepted and 48 rejected; two provisional ABM issuances had been recorded.
Because the July 15 runoff date coincides with the All‑Star Game at Truist Park, Fall proposed temporarily colocating up to nine precincts within a three-mile radius of the stadium to other nearby polling sites to avoid traffic congestion and ensure timely transport of ballots and memory cards to the elections office. The precincts identified for potential relocation are: Vining Zone 1, Vining Zone 2, Vining Zone 4; Dobbins 01 and Dobbins 02; Chalker 01 (CA 01); Chattahoochee 01; Smyrna 1A; Smyrna 6A. Fall said the team is completing site surveys and will present a concrete co-location plan, including postcards and signage, for board approval at the May 5 meeting.
Board members asked for the list and the proposed temporary locations before the holiday weekend so they can review the plan before May 5. Fall also confirmed postcard vendor timelines and said postcards could be printed and mailed on June 18 if a runoff is confirmed, to meet legal notice requirements for temporary relocations. The board discussed additional voter outreach options on June 17 to inform voters of any temporary changes if a runoff is called.
Fall also reviewed staffing: recent hires in absentee/advance and registration, multiple pending interview panels for registration positions, open recruitment for a summer communications intern, and planned prep-center supervisor and coordinator positions. She reiterated that special elections do not use the “rollover” absentee list used for regular elections — voters who expect automatic mail ballots must submit new applications for special or statewide contests.
No votes were taken on relocations; board members asked the director to deliver final site surveys, the relocation plan and postcard timelines ahead of the May 5 meeting.
