Another round of voting starts again next week to determine the Republican party’s nominees for two seats that require Polk County voters who took a GOP ballot to return to the polls.

The August 11 primary run-off for the 14th District Congressional GOP race and the 31st District State Senate are now a month away, and early voting for those two seats begins on July 20 at the Elections office. It’ll run until August 7 from 9 a.m to 5 p.m. on weekdays.

Elections Coordinator Brande Coggins said that because run-off elections have historically not had a high turnout of registered voters, no early voting days will be held at the Rockmart precinct for the August 11 race. Additionally, she said that this round of voting will not include extended hours, or polls opening for a Saturday.

“As this Election is considered a continuation of the General Primary, voters who voted a Democratic Ballot on June 9^th are not eligible to cast a vote during this Election,” Coggins added.

Nonpartisan voters can participate since they didn’t select a party on the June 9 ballot.

All seven of Polk County’s precincts will be open on Election Day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The contests for the GOP candidate selection to appear on the November ballot boils down to Paulding’s Jason Anavitarte and Boyd Austin seeking the District 31 state senate seat being vacated later this year when State Sen. Bill Heath retires. Both Anavitarte and Austin face a democratic challenger in the fall.

The 14th District Congressional race features a run-off between Rome’s Dr. John Cowan and Marjorie Greene. They were the winners out of a packed field of candidates vying for their name on the Republic ticket after Congressman Tom Graves announced his retirement earlier this year from the House of Representatives.

Cowan and Greene will also face a democrat on the fall ballot.

For voters who want to take part in the run-off but don’t want to head to the polls in-person, absentee ballots can be requested. Those who are registered and took part in the GOP primary can seek a ballot mailed to the home between now and August 7 for the GOP run-off. Voters can contact the Board of Elections at 770-749-2103 to learn more about the process, or visit https://sos.ga.gov/index.php/Elections/absentee_voting_in_georgia to print an application.

“Any voter who participated in Absentee by Mail for the March/June Election that indicated they are over 65 years old or physically disabled, will remain on the State of Georgia’s rollover list, and will automatically receive an Absentee Ballot from the Secretary of State’s Office,” Coggins said. “Once a voter has completed, signed, and returned an Absentee Application, our office will mail the Official Absentee Ballot to the voter.”

Absentee Ballots must be received in our office no later than 7 p.m. on Election Day in order to be counted. Additionally, the return envelope containing the ballot must be signed in order to be accepted.

“In order to prevent voter fraud, all Absentee Applications are inspected, and signatures are matched to the voter record. If a signature does not match, our office will send correspondence to the voter requesting additional information prior to accepting the ballot,” Coggins added.