Election Guide for Decatur/Avondale Estates

This is the Big One--the day Americans vote on our president. Many other local issues will be decided.

The marquee event features the Democratic incumbent, President Barack Obama, against the Republican, Gov. Mitt Romney. One other candidate is on the ballot in Georgia: Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party.

Locally, most of the elections were decided in the primaries last summer. For instance, none of the DeKalb County Commissioners face opposition in the General Election.

In the Georgia Senate 42 race, Democratic incumbent Jason Carter faces Republican Ken Quarterman.

Republican Howard Stopeck will face Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. John Lewis for the District 5 U.S. Congressional seat. J. Chris Vaughn, a Republican, is trying to unseat incumbnet Democrat Hank Johnson for the District 4 Congressional seat.

There are two constitutional amendments on the ballot.

Voters will also decide if the state can override local school boards' decisions on rejection of charter schools.

Also, voters will vote on whether to allow the state government to sign multi-year leases on buildings.

To see a sample ballot for all races in DeKalb, go to the county elections department website or look at the PDF attached to this page.

If you're not sure of your polling place, go to My Voter Page on the Georgia Secretary of State's website. Once you have entered the appropriate information, click on the words "sample ballot" to see a ballot localized to your address.

On Election Day the polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Here's a list of polling places in Decatur and Avondale Estates.

Avondale Estates

• Avondale City Hall, 21 North Avondale Plaza.

Decatur

• Clairemont East: First Baptist Church of Decatur, 308 Clairemont Ave.

• Clairemont West: The Church at Decatur Heights, 735 Sycamore Drive. (Note: This is a change from previous elections, when the polling place was the Lutheran Church.)

• Glenwood Precinct: Holy Trinity Parish, 515 E. Ponce de Leon Ave.

• Oakhurst: Oakhurst Baptist Church, 222 E. Lake Drive.

• Ponce de Leon: First Christain Church of Decatur, 601 W. Ponce de Leon Ave.

• Renfroe: Renfroe Middle School, 220 W. College Ave.

• Winnona Park: Winnona Park Elementary School, 510 Avery St.

If you aren't sure about the location of your poll, check out the Secretary of State webpage to find out.

Check back with Decatur/Avondale Estates Patch for continuing updates on Election Day.