Rashad Brown knows the race for the White House isn’t the only important election happening in Georgia right now.

The 32-year-old behavioral health counselor recently asked, through our new Ask Capital B community help desk, why local elections are important since they don’t typically garner as much attention as presidential races despite playing a “vital role” in the community.

Brown isn’t alone. Many voters struggle to recognize the names of all the candidates running for offices like county commissioner, sheriff or local judge, and it’s often hard to know what powers those offices confer.

So in response, Capital B called some experts on local elections and recalled some of our own election coverage to answer Brown’s question — and maybe yours.

Why primaries matter

First, let’s understand how primaries in Georgia work, since the upcoming May 21 election is a primary contest. Primary season determines which candidates will represent their political parties in a general election, but Democratic and Republican primary races can be more pivotal than some people realize in places like Fulton County.

Voter education and outreach manager LaShandra Little points out Fulton County has a heavily Democratic electorate, so the outcome of Democratic primary races often determines who’s going to serve in local offices and heavily gerrymandered legislative districts.

She noted that in some races, Republicans don’t even bother to run a general election candidate.

“[If] there’s nobody challenging from the other side, [the Democratic primary victor] is going to be the winner,” Little said.

Early voting has already begun for several key local, county and state legislative races, ballot issues, and primaries set to be decided by May 21. The outcome of some of these contests, voting rights advocates say, have just as much, if not more of a direct impact on the lives of metro Atlanta residents as the nation’s next president.

Voters concerned about the troubling string of deaths at the Fulton County Jail, for example, will want to cast ballots in the Fulton County sheriff’s race. Those concerned about county property taxes and a lack of medical services in their communities should vote in the Fulton County commissioners race, where three of six total seats are up for grabs this year. Those who want to overturn the state’s abortion restriction law may want to weigh in on the state’s Supreme Court race.

Issues Black Georgians care about most, such as housing, healthcare, rent pricing, employee pay, public safety, criminal justice reform, potholes and property taxes will all be impacted by the results of several elections decided this month, according to Helen Butler, executive director of Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda, a grassroots voter engagement and voting rights nonprofit.

“If you want your roads paved, if you want your child’s school to have a certain curriculum, that’s determined by a local person, not by the president,” Butler said. “Everything is local.”

A full breakdown of the candidates and issues at play in each race is available in the 2024 Voter Guide provided by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Atlanta Civic Center.

Redistricting

It’s also important to recognize the impact redistricting is having on this year’s elections. 

A number of new majority-Black state House, state Senate and U.S. congressional districts were created in December after the Georgia General Assembly was forced to redraw the state’s political district maps.

A federal judge determined earlier last year that the previous maps diluted Black voting power in areas of the state where an influx of Black people have moved over the last decade or so.

Little said U.S. Rep. David Scott’s district no longer includes Fulton County as a result of the new, heavily gerrymandered maps approved by Republicans at the state level last year. Scott has served Georgia’s U.S. congressional district 13 since 2003.

Little said some Black seniors in Fulton County who have voted for Scott for two decades have been confused that he’s no longer on their ballots. She is encouraging Fulton County voters to check the state’s My Voter Page before heading to the polls to make sure their precincts and candidates haven’t changed as a result of redistricting.

Other longstanding incumbents with newly drawn districts include state Sens. Donzella James and Jason Esteves.

“They automatically assume their ballot is wrong when, in essence, they’ve been redistricted,” Little said regarding some Fulton County voters she’s encountered this year. “I’d rather folks know before they go … so they’re not so caught off guard.”

This story is brought to you by Ask Capital B, our community help desk initiative powered by your questions. Curious about local elections, who is running, and where they stand on issues that matter to you? Tell us what you want to know and we’ll find answers.

Chauncey Alcorn is Capital B Atlanta's state and local politics reporter.