Lazaro Aleman
news@greenepublishing.com
The start of early voting for the primary election is just around the corner, with voters soon getting a chance to choose their political party bearers for three state races and outright picking a winner in at least one of three local races.
Early voting for the primary election, which is set for Tuesday, Aug. 23, will begin Saturday, Aug. 13, and run through Saturday, Aug. 20, with voting possible between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. During early voting, citizens may vote at any voting location. On Election Day, voters must vote at the location for their assigned precinct. Voting locations in Madison County are:
• Greenville American Legion, 133 SW Broad Ave.
• Madison County Supervisor of Elections Office, 239 SW Pinckney St.
• Lee City Hall, 286 NE County Rd. 255
• Pinetta Volunteer Fire Dept., 509 NE Persimmon Dr.
The local races appearing on the ballot will be races for three school board seats. The two county commissioners (Alfred Martin and Donnie Waldrep) are running unopposed. In the School Board District Three race, the winner between incumbent Surretta Bell and former school board member VeEtta Hagan, will be decided on Tuesday, Aug. 23.
In the School Board District One race, three candidates are vying for the seat. These are longtime incumbent Susie Williamson, and challengers Merv Mattair and Katie Knight. If any one candidate gets over 50 percent of the vote, that individual wins. Otherwise the two top vote getters proceed to the general election. The same holds true in the School Board District Five race between Devin Thompson, George Monreal, Charles Medders and Donnell Davis.
At the state level, voters will pick their candidate of choice in three races, depending on the voter’s party affiliation. The three races that will appear on the primary ballot are for governor, attorney general and agriculture commissioner.
In the governor’s race, Democrats will have three choices to pick from. They are Democrats Charlie Crist, Cadance Daniel and Nicole “Nikki” Fried. The winner here will face incumbent Republican Ron DeSantis and No Party Affiliation Jodi Jeloudov in November.
In the attorney general race, Democrats will also have three choices. These are Democratic candidates Aramis Ayala, Jim Lewis and Daniel Uhlfelder. The winner here will face Republican incumbent Ashley Moody in November.
In the agriculture commissioner race, both Democrats and Republican voters will have choices. For Democrats, the three Democratic candidates are Naomi Blemur, J. R. Gaillot and Ryan Morales. For Republicans, the choice is between GOP candidates James Shaw and Wilton Simpson.