Bibb County GOP voters could miss out on key local races in May

Bibb County Republicans could face a dilemma when heading to the polls in May.

On May 24, a handful of local contests -- including those for sheriff and tax commissioner -- feature only Democratic candidates. That means that day's local Democratic primary election -- and any runoffs -- will determine the winners, since there won't be any Republican opposition in November.

Any Republicans wanting a say in the outcome of those May races would have to switch allegiances and ask for a Democratic ballot.

"As a Bibb County Republican, what do I tell people?" said Calvin Palmer, interim chairman of the Bibb County Republican Party, who called the situation a "conundrum" for Republicans.

At least three high-profile seats will be decided by those voting Democratic ballots: Bibb County sheriff, Bibb County tax commissioner and state House of Representatives District 142.

Voters will choose between interim Tax Commissioner Wade McCord or former Macon Mayor C. Jack Ellis for the tax commissioner job. The sheriff's race features three Democrats: incumbent Sheriff David Davis, retired sheriff's Capt. Mike Smallwood and former sheriff's Deputy Tim Rivers. And voters living in House District 142 will choose from three Democrats: former Macon Councilman Gerald Harvey, community activist Frank Austin and former state Sen. Miriam Paris -- to replace state Rep. Nikki Randall, who opted not to seek re-election.

Although some Republicans will cross over and vote Democratic ballots because of the seats at stake, Palmer said he is publicly telling the GOP to remain faithful to the party.

"I say 'stay true to our colors and vote Republican,'" he said.

Palmer said there are a few Republican primary races that feature incumbents facing competition that should still draw interest from GOP voters. Among them are Angela Hicks taking on U.S. Rep. Austin Scott and the race for the U.S. Senate seat held by Johnny Isakson.

"That's an interesting race," Palmer said of Isakson facing challengers Derrick Grayson and Mary Kay Bacallao in the primary. The winner of the Republican primary will face the winner of the Democratic primary -- Jim Barksdale, Cheryl Copeland, John Coyne or James Knox -- in November.

"I don't know what Democrats will do," Palmer said. "I don't know whether they'll try to knock out Johnny by voting for one of his primary opponents."

This year's Macon elections, the first since Macon and Bibb County consolidated, feature nonpartisan races for Macon-Bibb mayor and commissioners, among others.

On May 24, voters will have a choice of ballots: Democratic, Republican or nonpartisan, Macon-Bibb County elections officer Tom Gillon said.

Macon-Bibb's nonpartisan races will be on all three ballots. If someone selects a nonpartisan ballot, though, they would not be able to vote in a handful of local races or any state races that are partisan.

Macon-Bibb County Elections Supervisor Jeanetta Watson said she has received calls from voters, elected officials and other candidates about the confusion some people may have about the May ballots. If a person declares for a particular party when they vote May 24, they would only be able to get that party's ballot if there's a runoff in July.

"This will be a huge concern if they don't see all the candidates they feel they should be eligible to vote for," Watson said.

John Swint, chairman of the Bibb County Democratic Party, agreed that there's too much confusion about the process. Even in previous years when the county commission and mayor were still in partisan races, there were instances of people crossing political lines just to vote in a particular race, he said.

"It's kind of a strange thing. It's happened several times here before this nonpartisan business," Swint said.

In some instances, voters will declare a particular party affiliation based on who's on the ballot, but that's more common in federal races than in local or state contests, said Chris Lawrence, an associate political science professor at Middle Georgia State University.

"For example, many voters in last month's presidential primary may have decided they wanted to get a (Republican) ballot and vote for Donald Trump, not because they were Republican but because (his) campaign appealed to them," he said.

Historically, political leaders have worried about people from one party infiltrating another party to vote for a weaker candidate in a primary, Lawrence said.

"The evidence isn't very strong that this happens a lot," he said.

But Swint said he thinks there are some Democrats voting for Trump in order to gain an upper hand in November.

"I believe a lot of people are voting for Trump, trying to pad it so Trump will be the obvious choice and (Republicans) will be in a pickle," he said.

To contact writer Stanley Dunlap, call 744-4623 or find him on Twitter@stan_telegraph.

This story was originally published March 24, 2016 at 6:13 PM with the headline "Bibb County GOP voters could miss out on key local races in May ."