The Monticello News · 247 West Washington St · P.O. Box 30 · Monticello · GA 31064

News Index This W Headl · Search Box Front Pag Another Jungle Primary And Ballot Access in ■Subdivisio · Front Page Require 30 Chris Bridges • Thu, Aug 06, 2020 · Sports Percent G Items from my political notebook as march toward the 2020 general election: Space · Weather ■Deputies M Traffic Sto · The Smithsonian Is We’ve provided plenty of coverage to the “jungle primary” for the United States Senate seat in Georgia Persons A Coming which will determine who succeeds the retired . Arrested H ■COVID-19 .Obituaries Rise to 13 Now there will be another “jungle primary” for the 5th congressional district following the passing of civil ■ · School News System rights icon in recent weeks. The “all candidates on one ballot” primary for the U.S. Senate seat Introduces · Features has confused many with questions such as “why isn’t this race on the primary ballot?” Teachers · Know Your Neighbor Sports ■Lady Coug The jungle primary for the fifth congressional district takes even more patience to sort through and grasp. for New S Columns Let’s try to explain it: Season · From the Pastor's Study ■Deadline I for Recrea · The Wild Side Since Lewis died after the primary was held, that meant there was no Democratic candidate for the Sports Sig general election. (It seems perhaps the candidate who finished in second would move up but that’s not · Hannah's Musings Obituarie how the law is in Georgia.) ■Mrs. Berni A Senior Moment Johnson · A Day in the Life The state Democratic Party then selected a replacement for Lewis on the November general election ■Martha An Preston Be · Theological Thoughts ballot. That choice was state senator who will face Republican Angela Stanton-King in ■James Ste November. 'Steve' Sh .Foster Talk with Dr. John ■Margaret · Commit to be Fit The problem arises in that currently no one is representing the fifth district. Therefore, by Georgia law, a Jenkins Pa ■Warren Sa Public Safety Corner special election has to be held. The winner of this race (separate from the general election contest) will 'Butch' Bla · I'm Fixin' To... then fill out the remainder of Lewis’ current term which will be however many days remain in the 2020 Jr. calendar year. ■Mrs. Linda · Guest Columnist McGuire The Fresh Word of the ■Miss Mary The special election will be September 29 with a runoff (very possible) to be December 1. That means the Magdalene Day winner could very well represent the district for a grand total of one month. ■Frances N · Rural Sustainability Thornton Williams decided not to run in the special election to “concentrate on the general election.” Hmmm. School Ne · Museum Notes ■After Scho · Kathy's Korner Program The whole special election to fill a term that could only be another month is a complete waste of taxpayer Registratio · Plain Speaking money. The 5th District is heavily Democratic so the majority of voters surely didn’t want Gov. Kemp From the · Hello Monticello appointing someone. Pastor's S ■Great Serm · From the Chamber of Preacher Candidates for that special election include: Commerce Plain Spe ■Another Ju · Sassy Susan •Robert Franklin, Democrat, former president of Morehouse College. Primary A Ballot Acc · Partnered Georgia •Kwanza Hall, Democrat, former city councilman and candidate for mayor. Hello Mon News Archive ■Slidin’ In T By Topic •Barrington Martin, Democrat, educator who was an opponent of Lewis in the June primary. Sassy Sus ■ · City Government Freedom R •Steven Muhammad, independent, minister from East Point. Now Truly · County Government Partnered · Public Safety ■Boat Safet •Chase Oliver, Libertarian, customer service specialist who is active in the state Libertarian Party. for Tubing · Schools / Education Water •Mable Thomas, Democratic, has served more than two decades in the General Assembly. ■Considera · Tax Assessors Raising Ho · People in the News ■A Guide to •Keisha Waites, Democrat, former state legislature who almost pushed 13th District Congressman David Cleaning Y · Water Scott into a runoff last month in the primary. Diesel Eng · Hospital ■How to Pu Proof Your Georgia Ballot Access: The number of signatures required for a third party or independent candidate in · Other Stories ■Best Tips Georgia for the 2020 general election was lowered by a recent court order. Improving · Sports Welding S · Elections In the case of Cooper vs. Raffensperger, the plaintiff argued due to the ongoing health crisis in the state ■Fiber Opti vs. Coppe · Health (and the country) the ability to collect signatures in public was severely limited. Cables: W Choose · Zoning The Secretary of State’s office did not object to lowering the requirement but contended it did not have ■4 Helpful T · Courts Planning t the right to lower the amount. Self-Care Channels The decision has lowered the required number of signatures needed to get on the ballot for races from · Community Events president to congress. The Georgia Green Party has started collecting the needed 5,250 signatures for · Classifieds presidential candidate Howie Hawkins of New York. · Legal Notices · Recalls It will still be a tough battle in the current environment. Georgia has some of the toughest ballot access laws in the country. Other states typically have numerous candidates for president on their general · Recipes election ballot. Contact Us Chris Bridges is a veteran community newspaper writer who has contributed to The Monticello News since · Phone, Fax, Email 1988. He welcomes feedback from readers about this column at [email protected]. Useful Links · GeorgiaPublicNotice.com submit your comments · City of Monticello · Georgia Press Assn. · Social Security · Driving Directions · Product Recalls