The early voting period for this year's May 24 General Primary begins Monday at the Dawson County Voter Registration and Elections Office in downtown Dawsonville.

Early voting runs from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays through May 20. There will also be a Saturday voting opportunity May 14 when polls will be open 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at the same location.

The cutoff date to register to vote in the election was yesterday.

A couple of local races are expected to be decided on May 24 as there are no Democratic candidates running for office in Dawson County.

County commission chairman and the District 4 Commission seat will go to the top vote-getter, while several races are anticipated to be forced into a run-off election that will be held July 26.

The race for Dawson County Sheriff with four candidates that are vying to succeed five-term sheriff Billy Carlisle, who is not seeking re-election, and the tax commissioner, which also has four candidates, will likely need a run-off.

A single candidate must receive 50 percent, plus one vote to secure an outright win.

The two candidates who qualified as Republicans to be Dawson County's next District 2 Commissioner may also have two additional candidates running on an independent ticket.

Glenda Ferguson, elections supervisor, confirmed last week that two potential candidates have inquired about running as independents for the seat currently held by James Swafford, who is not seeking a third term.

In the event that independent candidates meet the qualification requirements, the winner of the Republican primary held on May 24 will face the independent qualifier Nov. 8.

An election guide will be published in the May 3 edition of the Dawson County News and will feature thorough coverage of the upcoming election as well as questions and answers to a number of topics for each local candidate.