COVINGTON, Ga. — All Newton County voters will have the chance to elect a new Superior Court judge Tuesday, Aug. 11.
In the same runoff election, Democratic voters in two districts in Covington and northern Newton County will choose the defacto winner of a seat on the county school board and the party's nominee for a board of commissioners seat in November.
Voters can make their choices Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at their assigned polling locations in Newton County. For more information, call 770-784-2055 or visit co.newton.ga.us/167/Board-of-Elections-Registration.
Monroe attorney Jeffrey Foster and Covington attorney Robert H. Stansfield are facing each other in the nonpartisan election for the Superior Court judgeship.
It is within the two-county Alcovy Judicial Circuit and voters in both Newton and Walton counties will select the winner to replace retiring Superior Court Judge Eugene Benton.
Foster was the top vote-getter June 9 in a three-person election with 37% while Stansfield finished second with 32% to earn a spot in the runoff election — both far below the 50% plus one vote required to avoid a runoff. Stansfield edged out Cheveda McCamy, who received 31% and narrowly missed the runoff.
Meanwhile, Democratic voters in north central Newton County will fill a vacant seat on the Newton County School Board Tuesday.
Anderson Bailey and Jeffrey Johnson are facing each other for the county school board's District 4 seat.
They qualified for Tuesday's runoff election after being the top two finishers in a three-person Democratic Primary race June 9 that also included Michael Syphoe.
Bailey has been employed by the city of Covington for 14 years as a meter reader. He is retired from the military and also has been a GHSA multicounty basketball official for more than 25 years.
Johnson is an Army veteran and former graduation specialist at Eastside High School, according to past news stories.
The winner will replace the late Almond Turner, who died in November 2019. There is no Republican opponent in the November general election.
District 4 stretches from Alcovy Road near I-20 in the north to South Salem Elementary School in the south and includes much of the city of Oxford.
Also Tuesday, Casey Duren and Dorothy Piedrahita will square off for the Democratic nomination for the District 5 seat on the Newton County Board of Commissioners.
The two candidates were the top two finishers in a three-person Democratic Primary race that also included Cecil Spencer.
Duren works in human resources while Piedrahita is listed in candidate records as an activist. The winner will face Republican incumbent Ronnie Cowan in the November general election.
District 5 stretches from Social Circle in the north to Mixon Elementary School in the south.
Voters can visit the My Voter Page at the Georgia Secretary of State’s website to verify their polling location and see which races will be on their ballot. The link is mvp.sos.ga.gov/MVP/mvp.do.
Those who requested absentee ballots must have them at the election office at the Newton County Administration Building at 1113 Usher St. by 7 p.m. on Election Day, Aug. 11, to be counted, officials said.
An absentee ballot drop box — for Newton County ballots only — is available and located at the north entrance of the administration building, officials said.
Additional information is available by calling 770-784-2055 or visiting co.newton.ga.us/167/Board-of-Elections-Registration.
