Three more people have qualified as candidates for the special election to fill the vacant State Senate 11 seat.

The three who qualified before the deadline at noon on Wednesday include:

• Marshall Berman of Thomasville, Ga., retired from the Georgia Department of Labor, running as a Republican.

• Eugene McNease of Thomasville, a farmer/rancher running as a Republican.

• Lisa Collins of Blakely, Ga., whose occupation is listed as the director of economic development for Early County 2055. She is running as a Democrat.

Those who had qualified previously were Dr. Dean Burke of Bainbridge, Brad Hughes of Blakely, Mike Keown of Coolidge, Ga., and Jeffrey A. Bivins of Cairo, Ga.

Burke, Hughes and Keown are all running as Republicans, while Bivins is running as a Libertarian.

The special election will be held Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2013. If necessary, a run-off election will be held on Feb. 5, 2013.

Early voting for the Jan. 8 special election will begin on December 26 at the Decatur County Fairgrounds and continue through Jan. 4, Chief of Elections Doris White said. However, no voting will be conducted on Christmas Day or New Year’s Day.

Because it is a special election, all seven candidates will be listed together on the ballot. Their names will be listed alphabetically, with their party listed beneath their name.

The Georgia Legislature will convene in Atlanta on Monday, Jan. 14, at 10 a.m.