Mableton sample ballot released, early voting starts next week

Hunter Riggall, Marietta Daily Journal, Ga.
Updated ·2 min read

Feb. 21—Cobb County Elections has released a consolidated sample ballot for the March 21 Mableton mayor and City Council elections.

Early voting for the mayoral race and the six council districts starts Monday.

The ballot lists the four candidates running for mayor, which is elected citywide, and the council candidates, who will be elected by the residents of the district they are running to represent.

The council elections have attracted 24 candidates. All of the districts have at least two candidates, and four of them have several candidates. Candidates must win a majority — more than 50% of the vote — to be elected, creating the potential for April 18 runoff elections.

Terms for the first council will be staggered, per the city charter, with three members serving from March 2023-December 2025, while the other three will serve from March 2023-December 2027. All members of successive councils will serve four-year terms, and no elected officials in Mableton will be permitted to serve more than three consecutive terms.

Mableton has about 47,200 active registered voters, according to Cobb elections.

Three weeks of early voting begins Monday. Polls are open Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Early voting will also be offered on two Saturdays — March 4 and March 11 — from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The last day of early voting is Friday, March 17.

The deadline to request an absentee ballot is March 10.

Early voting will take place at two locations:

1. Mable House Arts Center — 5239 Floyd Road, Mableton

2. South Cobb Community Center — 620 Lions Club Drive, Mableton

Absentee ballot drop boxes are located inside early voting locations and are only open during voting hours. Absentee ballots may also be mailed, or hand delivered to the Main Elections Office at 995 Roswell St. during office hours.

Absentee ballots must be received by 7 p.m. on March 21 to be counted.

The city of Mableton, comprising the southernmost portion of Cobb County, will offer four services — zoning, code enforcement, parks and recreation and sanitation — to roughly 77,500 people in the southernmost part of the county, between Austell and Smyrna, making it Cobb's largest city.

Residents in the city limits voted to incorporate in the Nov. 8 general election, when cityhood was approved with 13,191 votes, or 53%, to 11,694 votes, or 47%.