Election Day polls have opened; light turnout early in metro Atlanta
Happy Election Day. The polls are open.
The final day of voting has kicked off, with dozens of candidates on the ballot seeking seats in Atlanta and other cities across the metro.
Polls opened at 7 a.m. for Georgians who weren’t among the 8% of registered voters who cast ballots during advanced voting.
In addition to municipal races to pick mayors, city council and school board members, this year’s election will also determine who serves on the Georgia Public Service Commission, the first time PSC seats have been on the ballot since 2020.
Georgia Decides 2025
With nearly 1,000 municipal contests underway across Georgia, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is your trusted source for election coverage.
Top races: Polls have opened across Georgia. Here are the key races in the metro Atlanta area to watch.
What’s going on today: One extra hour. After a contentious battle, Judge rules Atlanta polls will remain open until 8 p.m.
Early data: Most registered voters have yet to cast a ballot — only 8% of Georgians voted early and overall turnout is expected to remain light. Here’s who voted early in Atlanta’s municipal elections.
What to watch: Will it be a good night for Democrats? What could key races mean for 2026? 5 questions about Georgia’s elections
The issues: The statewide Public Service Commission contest is likely the most closely watched race today among political experts and voters alike. Meet the candidates running for seats on state’s powerful utility regulator
Opinion: “You can talk about any issue but you’ve got to be focused because you’re not the mayor, you’re not the City Council.” Candidates locked in a fierce fight to become Atlanta City Hall’s second-in-command
How to vote: Find your polling site
Here are some of the key races on the ballot across the region:
- Public Service Commission: Two statewide seats are on the ballot, District 2 and District 3. The Republican incumbents in both districts face Democratic challengers.
- Atlanta mayor: Andre Dickens is seeking reelection to a second and final term. He faces three challengers, all political newcomers: Eddie Andrew Meredith, a community advocate and minister; Helmut Domagalski, a consultant; and Kalema Jackson, a former Atlanta police officer.
- Atlanta City Council president: Two-term Council member Mari Collier Overstreet is running against progressive nonprofit founder Rohit Malhotra for a position that runs Council meetings and makes committee appointments.
- Atlanta City Council: Twelve incumbents are seeking reelection, and five face challengers. Three council seats are wide-open without an incumbent running: District 2, District 7 and District 11.
- Small city mayors: South Fulton’s mayor, who has faced controversy for his spending of taxpayer money, faces eight challengers. Mayors in Marietta, Roswell, Sandy Springs and Stone Mountain also face challengers.
- School elections: Four of the nine seats on the Atlanta school board are up for grabs, as are three school board seats in Decatur and each of the seven seats on the Marietta school board. In Gwinnett County, a penny-per-dollar sales tax referendum to fund education projects is on the ballot.
Polls are open until 7 p.m. and anyone in line at that point can cast a ballot.
There was light traffic at the Joan P. Garner Library at Ponce de Leon early Tuesday morning. But Rodney Gibbs was among those who had come out to vote in the municipal election, motivated by issues such as investment in MARTA, the Beltline and the rising cost of living, including the crushing price of housing.
He voted for Rohit Malhotra for City Council president and hoped Malhotra would push Mayor Andre Dickens to invest more in Beltline transit and affordable housing.
“Dickens vacillated on transit, on the Beltline and then Cop City. His stance on that was very disappointing to me,” Gibbs said.
Gibbs said he had also voted for Kelsea Bond for Atlanta City Council District 2 because of her stance on cost of living and housing.
“I have a general concern about the cost of living here for people who can’t afford it,” he said. “I think it’s becoming harder to live in the city.”
Alexandra Castilla and Keith Sinclair live in the Old Fourth Ward. Sinclair said he hoped that a vote for Malhotra would put someone in the City Council president’s chair who would hold the mayor accountable and ensure he did not “have yes men around him.”
They said they couldn’t cast their vote at the library and that officials had told them they would need to vote at the polling location on Howell Mill Road.
Sinclair said he would probably vote for Eddie Meredith for mayor, while Castilla said she wanted to see improvements in the city’s infrastructure, including repairs to potholes that she said had damaged their cars.
“I think affordable housing is also important, and making sure that with the progress that’s been made with bringing IT and tech into the city, that we continue to foster affordable living, so that people are able to come and live here and prosper in the city,” Castilla said.
Attorney Janet Serafin said she voted for Atlanta City Council District 2 candidate Courtney Smith, citing Smith’s practical experience tackling homelessness, which she said had worsened in the Virginia-Highland neighborhood.
She added she had cast a vote for Dickens, mostly because of a lack of viable alternatives.
“I think he’s done an OK job. He’s not my favorite politician. But he wants to do the right things. Whether he’s being effective in doing those things is maybe a question,” she said.
In Atlanta, where polls will be open until 8 p.m. A court ruling Monday extended the time city residents can cast ballots by one hour but voters who arrive after 7 p.m. can’t vote in the Public Service Commission race and must use a provisional ballot.
Check your polling site online.
Phoebe Quinton and Eric Stirgus contributed to this report.
About the Author
Sara Gregory covers transportation for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Previously, she covered local government in DeKalb County. A Charlotte native, she joined the paper in 2023 after working at newspapers in South Carolina and Virginia.
