All of Atlanta’s elected offices are up for grabs, including the mayor’s office, Atlanta City Council president and all 15 council seats.

Although the president position holds only tiebreaking voting power, the role makes key committee chair assignments and facilitates the flow of council meetings. The president is usually in close contact with the mayor and is next in line should the mayor leave office.

Atlanta has a strong mayor form of government, which means whoever holds the position acts as chief executive officer of the city. The mayor oversees city operations, appoints department heads and submits a proposed budget every year. They also have veto power over legislation passed by City Council.

Atlanta City Council is the city’s top legislative body and passes new ordinances, appoints leaders of the city’s boards and commissions and makes crucial decisions over how taxpayer money is spent. City Council can override a mayor’s veto by a two-thirds majority vote.

Atlanta has 12 district council members who represent specific areas of the city and three citywide at-large council members. Each of the members of council serves a four-year term.

Four out of the nine Atlanta school board seats are up for election. Even-numbered district seats are in play, with incumbents declining to run in District 2 and Seat 8 At-Large.

The Atlanta school board handles the district’s budget of almost $2 billion. One of the board’s biggest responsibilities is hiring the school system’s superintendent.

The mayor and City Council president are the most powerful political positions in the city and both top races to watch for voters.

Atlanta’s mayor is term-limited, which means they can only serve two consecutive four-year terms in office. If Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens wins reelection, it will be his second and final term.

Atlanta City Council districts 2, 7 and 11 both have wide-open races after incumbents decided not to run for reelection. The districts represent key neighborhoods in the city: Midtown, Buckhead and southwest Atlanta, respectively.

Voters can check by entering an address into the city’s interactive council map. New council lines set after the city’s redistricting process in 2022 have changed some districts.

Election Day is Nov. 4.

The last day to submit an absentee ballot application is Oct. 24. Completed and signed absentee ballots must be received by 7 p.m. Nov. 4.

The early voting period is Oct. 14-31.

If candidates in any races fail to receive a majority of the votes — more than 50% — voters will return to the polls for a runoff election Dec. 2.

You can check to see if your voter registration is active by visiting Georgia Secretary of State’s My Voter Page.