Secretary of State Handel Announces Candidate Qualifying Process for State Senate District 13

Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel announced today that she will call a Special Primary to fill the Republican nomination for state Senate District 13 pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 21-2-504(a), upon the withdrawal of state Senator Joseph Carter.

The Secretary of State’s Elections Division received Mr. Carter’s affidavit of withdrawal as a candidate in state Senate District 13. Because of the timing of the withdrawal, Mr. Carter’s name will appear on the ballot for in-person and absentee ballot voting in the General Primary. Elections officials in Ben Hill, Crisp, Irwin, Lee, Tift, Turner, Wilcox and Worth counties will post notifications in precincts within state Senate District 13 notifying voters of Mr. Carter’s withdrawal. Any votes cast for Mr. Carter will not be counted.

The Special Primary for the Republican nomination will be held on Tuesday, August 5, 2008. Since no Democratic candidate qualified for Senate District 13, there was no Democratic primary for this seat. Accordingly, the Special Primary will be held only for the Republican nomination as provided for in the law.

Secretary Handel set the candidate qualifying dates for state Senate District 13 as Wednesday, July 16 through Friday, July 18, 2008. Qualifying on Wednesday will run from 9 a.m. until 5:30 p.m.; on Thursday from 8 a.m. until 5:30 p.m.; and on Friday from 8 a.m. until 12 noon.

Qualifying will be held in the Elections Division of the Office of Secretary of State, 1104 West Tower, 2 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, SE, Atlanta, Georgia 30334-1505. Candidates may also qualify in the Secretary of State’s South Georgia Office at 238 East Second Street, Tifton, Georgia, 31794. The qualifying fee is $400.00.

Advance voting for the Special Primary will be held Monday, July 28 through Friday, August 1, 2008. The Special Primary will be held in Ben Hill, Crisp, Irwin, Lee, Tift, Turner and Worth counties, and a portion of Wilcox County. Polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, August 5, 2008. August 5, 2008 is also the date for run-offs for the General Primary held on July 15, 2008. If necessary, a run-off for the Special Primary will be held on Tuesday, August 26, 2008.

Voters can request an absentee ballot from their county registrar’s office through the close of business on Friday, August 1, 2008. Absentee ballots must be returned to the county registrar by close of business on Election Day. Photo identification is not required when voting by mail. To download an absentee ballot request form, please visit www.sos.ga.gov/elections.

All citizens residing in state Senate District 13 who are not registered to vote can register through Tuesday, July 8, 2008 to be eligible to vote in the Special Primary Election. Voter registration forms can be obtained at any county registrar’s office or from the Secretary of State’s website:
http://www.sos.state.ga.us/elections/voter_registration/voter_reg_app.htm.