Georgia state legislative Democratic primaries, 2018
- General election: Nov. 6
- Voter registration deadline: Oct. 9[1]
- Early voting: Oct. 15 - Nov. 2
- Absentee voting deadline: Nov. 6
- Online registration: Yes
- Same-day registration: No
- Voter ID: Photo ID required
- Poll times: 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
| 2018 Georgia State Legislature elections | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General | November 6, 2018 |
| Primary | May 22, 2018 |
| Primary Runoff | July 24, 2018 |
| 2018 elections | |
|---|---|
| Choose a chamber below: | |
The Democratic primary elections for the seats in the Georgia State Senate and Georgia House of Representatives were on May 22, 2018, and the Democratic primary runoff elections were on July 24, 2018. For information about the Republican primary elections in Georgia, click here.
The general election was on November 6, 2018. The candidate filing deadline was March 9, 2018. In the state Senate, all 56 seats were up for election. In the state House, all 180 seats were up for election.
Incumbents who did not advance to the general election
Retiring incumbents
One Democratic state House incumbent did not seek re-election.
- Bill McGowan (District 138)
Incumbents defeated
One Democratic state Senate incumbent was defeated in his primary.
- Curt Thompson (District 4)
Three Democratic state House incumbents were defeated in their primaries.
- Howard Mosby (District 83)
- Earnest Williams (District 87)
- Darrel B. Ealum (District 153)
Competitiveness
Fifty-nine more candidates ran in 2018 than in 2016. Eight-one more candidates ran in 2018 than in 2014. The number of contested Democratic primaries increased to 46 from 31 in 2016 and 23 in 2014. The number of contested Republican primaries stayed relatively the same as previous years.
| Year | Total seats | Open seats | Total candidates | Democratic primaries contested | Republican primaries contested | Total contested | Incumbents contested in primaries | Total incumbents contested in primaries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 236 | 20 | 445 | 46 | 46 | 19.5% | 55 | 25.5% |
| 2016 | 236 | 19 | 386 | 31 | 45 | 16.1% | 49 | 22.6% |
| 2014 | 236 | 17 | 364 | 23 | 39 | 13.1% | 48 | 21.9% |
Partisan control
The tables below show the partisan breakdowns of the Georgia House of Representatives and the Georgia State Senate as of July 2018:
Georgia House of Representatives
| Party | As of July 2018 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 64 | |
| Republican Party | 115 | |
| Vacancies | 1 | |
| Total | 180 | |
Georgia State Senate
| Party | As of July 2018 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 19 | |
| Republican Party | 37 | |
| Vacancies | 0 | |
| Total | 56 | |
Voter information
How the primary works
A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Georgia utilizes an open primary system, in which any voter can participate in a political party's primary election regardless of their partisan affiliation. A candidate must win a majority of votes cast in the primary in order to win the election. If no candidate wins an outright majority, a runoff primary is held between the top two vote-getters.[2][3]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
Poll times
In Georgia, polls are open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. Eastern Time. In cities with a population greater than 300,000 people, polls remain open until 8 p.m. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote.[4][5]
Registration requirements
- Check your voter registration status here.
To vote in Georgia, one must be a citizen of the United States and a legal resident of their county. The voter must be at least 17.5 years of age at the time of registration and 18 at the time of the election, and not serving a sentence for a felony conviction.[6][7]
The deadline to register to vote is 29 days prior to the election. Registration can be completed online, in person, or by mail.[6][8]
Automatic registration
- See also: Automatic voter registration
In Georgia, eligible voters are automatically registered to vote when they conduct transactions at the Department of Driver Services. The eligible voter may opt-out of registration.[9][10]
Online registration
- See also: Online voter registration
Georgia has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.
Same-day registration
Georgia does not allow same-day voter registration.
Residency requirements
To register to vote in Georgia, a voter must be a resident of the state, and of the county in which they are registering. State law does not specify a length of time for which you must have been a resident to be eligible.
Verification of citizenship
A Georgia state law, passed in 2009, required voters to provide proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote. However, as of September 2025, the law had not been implemented.[11][12]
In Georgia, an individual must attest that they are a U.S. citizen when registering to vote. According to the state's voter registration application, a voter who provides false information on a voter registration application is guilty of a felony.[13]
All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment.[14] Seven states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming — have laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. One state, Ohio, requires proof of citizenship only when registering to vote at a Bureau of Motor Vehicles facility. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters.
Verifying your registration
The site GA My Voter Page, run by the Georgia Secretary of State's office, allows residents to check their voter registration status online.
Voter ID requirements
Georgia requires voters to present photo identification while voting.[15]
The following list of accepted ID was current as of October 2025. Click here for the Georgia Secretary of State's page on accepted ID to ensure you have the most current information.
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Voters can obtain a free voter ID card from any county registrar's office or Department of Driver Services Office. Click here for more information on obtaining a free voter ID card in Georgia.
Early voting
Georgia permits early voting. Learn more by visiting this website.
Early voting permits citizens to cast ballots in person at a polling place prior to an election. In states that permit no-excuse early voting, a voter does not have to provide an excuse for being unable to vote on Election Day. States that allow voters to cast no-excuse absentee/mail-in ballots in person are counted as no-excuse early voting states.
Forty-seven states and the District of Columbia permit no-excuse early voting.
Absentee voting
All voters are eligible to vote absentee/by-mail in Georgia. There are no special eligibility requirements for voting absentee. A voter may request an absentee ballot between 78 days and 11 days before Election Day. A completed ballot must be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day.[19]
See also
- Georgia state legislative Republican primaries, 2018
- Georgia House of Representatives elections, 2018
- Georgia State Senate elections, 2018
- Georgia State Legislature
- Georgia elections, 2018
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The registration deadline was extended to October 16, 2018, in Clay, Grady, Randolph, and Turner counties by executive order of Gov. Nathan Deal in response to Hurricane Michael.
- ↑ LexisNexis, "O.C.G.A. § 21-2-224," accessed September 30, 2025
- ↑ LexisNexis, "O.C.G.A. § 21-2-501," accessed September 30, 2025
- ↑ State of Georgia, "Vote in Person on Election Day," accessed September 30, 2025
- ↑ LexisNexis, "O.C.G.A. § 21-2-403," accessed September 30, 2025
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Georgia Secretary of State, "How-to Guide: Registering to Vote," accessed September 30, 2025
- ↑ Georgia.gov, "Register to Vote," accessed September 30, 2025
- ↑ LexisNexis, "O.C.G.A. § 21-2-224," accessed September 30, 2025
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Georgia Automatic Voter Registration Surges After Web Fix," May 24, 2022
- ↑ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Automatic registration leads to surge of new Georgia voters," April 29, 2019
- ↑ LexisNexis, "O.C.G.A. § 21-2-216," accessed September 30, 2025
- ↑ Pew Trusts, "'Proof of Citizenship' Voting Laws May Surge Under Trump," November 16, 2017
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Georgia Voter Registration Application," accessed September 30, 2025
- ↑ Under federal law, the national mail voter registration application (a version of which is in use in all states with voter registration systems) requires applicants to indicate that they are U.S. citizens in order to complete an application to vote in state or federal elections, but does not require voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the application "may require only the minimum amount of information necessary to prevent duplicate voter registrations and permit State officials both to determine the eligibility of the applicant to vote and to administer the voting process."
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Georgia Secretary of State, "Georgia Voter Identification Requirements," accessed October 6, 2025
- ↑ [Under a 2025 law, a driver's license must be in a physical format and issued by the Department of Driver Services.]
- ↑ This includes colleges, universities, and technical colleges.
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Georgia.gov, "Vote by Absentee Ballot," accessed September 30, 2025
