JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — Looking ahead to its first self-run municipal election in 2025, the Johns Creek City Council nailed down one aspect of the process at its Dec. 12 — using the “vote center” model.
Assistant City Manager Ron Bennett said Johns Creek would be the first city in Georgia to use the model, which mirrors the Fulton County process that allows voters to cast their ballot at any of the county’s advance polling places. This year, residents of cities contracted with Fulton County Elections could vote at any of 14 advance voting locations.
Unlike Fulton County, which assigned Election Day voting locations based on geography, Johns Creek plans to use the model for both the advance voting period and on Election Day.
Bennett suggested the city use at least five city-owned facilities — City Hall, Park Place and three fire stations which, he said, would place 94 percent of the city’s population within a six minute drive to the nearest ballot box.
But, city staff are set to research the historical voting patterns in Johns Creek to help determine the final count of polling places, their locations as well as the number of poll workers at each site.
City Clerk Allison Tarpley said the state requires six poll clerks at each location, whereas Fulton County staffed the city with a dozen. Tarpley said six is probably too few and 12 is too many, and she suggested a count somewhere in the middle.
“I have heard this consistently with our Gwinnett sister cities, with … Milton … everyone who said poll workers will make or break your voting experience for your voters,” Tarpley said.
With more than 82,000 residents, Johns Creek would also be the largest city to run its own election in Georgia, Councilwoman Erin Elwood said. About 60 percent of the city’s population is registered to vote.
Sandy Springs, with a population of 108,000,…
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