By Carol Heard

Special to The Post-Searchlight

Qualifying to run for a local city council seat will begin on Monday, Aug. 21, at 8:30 a.m. and will run through 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 25.

The cities of Bainbridge and Climax, and the Town of Brinson are scheduled to hold municipal elections on Nov. 7. Persons seeking to run for office need to qualify and pay the qualifying fee to be on the ballot.

Qualifying will begin on Monday, Aug. 21, at 8:30 a.m. at the Decatur County Board of Elections and Voter Registration’s office located at 122 W. Water St., which is in the Courthouse Annex across the street from the Firehouse Gallery. It will end on Friday, Aug. 25, at 4:30 p.m.

Among some of the qualifications for running for office in those municipalities are you must be a registered voter and you must be a resident of the city or within the district which you intend to run.

Candidates must also pay the qualifying fee outlined by each municipality, or a candidate may file a pauper’s affidavit in lieu of paying the qualifying fee. No cash can be accepted for the qualifying fee; please only a check or money order.

The following are the seats and qualifying fees for each municipality in Decatur County:

Bainbridge – There are three Aldermen seats and Mayor’s seat up for election this year: Seat 2, District A, which is the late Councilmember Joe Sweet’s seat; and Seat 3, District B, which is currently held by Phil Long; Seat 1, At Large, which is currently held by Glennie Bench and the Mayor, which Edward Reynolds currently is. The qualifying fee an Alderman seat is $90. The qualifying fee for Mayor is $171.

Brinson – Two Council seats are up for election this year, which are the seats currently held by Tom Powell and Hardy Powell. The qualifying fee is $43.20.

Climax – The Mayor and two Council seats are up for election this year. Charles Hadsock is the current Mayor, and Bob Jones and Denis Bishop are the two current council members up for re-election. The qualifying fee for Mayor is $25 and the Council seats are $20.

Attapulgus – There is no municipal election in Attapulgus this year because the mayor and council serve non-staggered terms, which means all the seats will be up for election in 2019.

All county voters are eligible to vote in the Nov. 7 election because of the proposed one-cent Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (T-SPLOST).

The registration deadline for the Nov. 7 election is Tuesday, Oct. 10.

Advance voting will be from Monday, Oct. 16, to Friday, Nov. 3, at the Courthouse Annex at 122 W. Water St. or at the Fairgrounds located at 1211 Vada Highway. Polls will be open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and possibly on Saturday, Oct. 28, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

All nine precincts are scheduled to be open on Election Day, Nov. 7, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

If you would like to have a ballot mailed to you, please contact the Elections office and request an application. You may request an application at Georgia Secretary of State’s My Voter Page, on a link at Decatur County’s webpage — www.decaturcountyga.gov – and follow the link to the Elections Office’s page. The absentee ballot application is below the video on how to correctly submit your ballot.

For more information, please call the Board of Elections and Voter Registration at (229) 243-2087.