As Atlanta voters began to knock off work Tuesday afternoon, some of them headed to the polls.
Like many voters, Charmaine Caruth was most concerned with voting for governor. Seven candidates are vying for the spot, two Democratic women and five GOP men: Stacey Abrams (D), Casey Cagle (R), Stacey Evans (D), Hunter Hill (R), Brian Kemp (R), Clay Tippins (R) and Michael Williams (R).
Caruth, who got to the Dobbs Elementary School polling location in southeast Atlanta shortly before 5 p.m., voted for Stacey Abrams.
“I love to see what she’s doing with the kids and education and HOPE scholarships,” she said. “That was a big thing for me, that she’s setting the platform for kids and she’s trying to make a difference for our youth.”
Abrams stood out to Caruth, who is from New York but has lived in Atlanta for 41 years, when she attended some of the candidate’s events. “It wasn’t about a color thing for me,” Caruth offered.
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But Diane Knight, who walked out of Dobbs elementary holding a squirming toddler who played with the stickers she got for voting, said it matters to have someone who represents her as a person of color in Atlanta. Abrams also got her vote.
“I think that it’s important because the city of Atlanta is representative of what Black America is right now,” she said. “I think ... that a lot of times we can get forgotten in the midst of it and we’re just as a part of this country, we’re just as a part of this city, we’re just as a part of this state as everyone else.”
Knight believes more can be done at the local level than on “a large presidential level at this point,” so she always tries to vote. She’d like to see better education and economic opportunities for families in the inner-city — not just the areas being gentrified, Knight said. She also thinks the city’s transportation needs improvement.
While the gubernatorial race is at the forefront, other big primary races includes Congressional races, statehouse seats and down-ticket statewide contests such as state schools superintendent. Polls in Fulton close at 7 p.m.
Multiple locations throughout the day did not seem very busy, but a turnout estimate isn't available yet, a Fulton County spokesman said.
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