While the city elections are 10 months away, McDonough officials are already considering how qualifying will work in 2021.

City clerk Janis Price told the City Council at its Jan. 4 meeting that an item regarding qualifying will be on the agenda for the Jan. 19 meeting. She specifically asked the council to consider whether the qualifying period, which by law is Aug. 16-20, will be a full five days. The legal minimum period is three days. Price noted in the past her office has occasionally received difficult last-minute inquiries from potential candidates who “do not understand the process,” as she put it.