JacksonHeraldTODAY

Early voting started Wednesday in Jackson County and will be held through Friday.

Early voting will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at the Administrative Building in Jefferson. There will be no Saturday voting.

On Election Day, Tuesday, Aug. 21, polls in the county will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Three races will be on the ballot — sheriff’s race with Ramone Gilbert and Janis Mangum; probate judge’s race with Sherry Moore and Donna Sikes; and 9th District Congressional race, with Doug Collins and Martha Zoller.

The Jackson County Republican Party will host a political forum at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 10, at the Commerce Civic Center.

Candidates for sheriff, chairman of the board of commissioners and board of commissioner District 2 will participate.

Candidates will be given time to introduce themselves and will then answer questions from a moderator. Questions from the audience will also be permitted but must be submitted in writing and screened by the moderator to ensure they are fair and relevant.

Other candidates are welcome to attend and will be permitted to introduce themselves.

As of Wednesday, five people had applied or been nominated for the State Court judge position in Jackson County and the deadline is Monday.

Those on the list are: Scott Tolbert, Donna Golden Sikes, Nick Primm, Ronnie Hopkins and Jeff Perry.

Applications and nominations are being taken for the State Court judge position in following the death of Judge Jerry Gray.

The Judicial Nominating Commission for the State of Georgia, led by chairman Michael Bowers, is accepting applications for the judgeship. Each person who applies or is nominated will receive an application package to be completed and sent to the commission by Nov. 23.

The commission will meet to interview the applicants on Dec .7. The commission will then select and recommend to the governor those found to be “qualified” to a short list of up to five people for the position.

The governor will make the appointment.

As of Friday, two people had applied for the State Court judge position in Jackson County. Jefferson attorneys Scott Tolbert and Donna Golden Sikes are the only names in the hat so far, but several other Jackson County attorneys have reportedly expressed an interested in the position. [Full Story »]