Article III of the Bylaws of the Douglas County Democratic Committee provides for the election of Committee members (formerly called post seat holders).
Elections will be held Saturday, June 13, beginning at 10 a.m. at St. Julian’s Episcopal Church in Douglasville.
Qualifications for membership include being 18 or older, registered to vote in Douglas County for at least one year and declared to be a Democrat.
What to Know About Committee Composition
The Bylaws dictate that committee seats are apportioned by county commission district. Each district has six seats. In addition, there are two at-large seats that can be filled by anyone in the county who meets the qualifications for Committee membership.
Elections are held every two years. To ensure continuity, some seats are up for election on years with presidential elections. The other seats are up for election during gubernatorial election years.
The 2026 County Committee Elections – What to Know
As 2026 is a gubernatorial election year, the following seats will be up for election:
At Large – currently held by Joel Brock
District 1, Seat 1 – currently held by Janet Payne
District 1, Seat 3 – currently held by Sonia Turner
District 1, Seat 5 – vacant
District 2, seat 1 – currently held by Sandra Washington
District 2, seat 3 – currently held by Susan Nelson Bowie
District 2, seat 5 – currently held by Jeannette Phillips
District 3, seat 1 – currently held by Allan Nottingham
District 3, seat 3 – currently held by Rodney Butler
District 3, seat 5 – currently held by Jeremy Jermaine
District 4, seat 1 – currently held by Tony Montcalm
District 4, seat 3 – currently held by Dr. Louis Howe
District 4, seat 5 – currently held by Dr. Robin Zuninga-Ortega
These are the seats that will be up for election this year, per the Bylaws.
In addition, elections will be held to fill seats that are ordinarily up for election on presidential years but have become vacant. Those will include:
District 1, seat 6
District 2, seat 2
District 2, seat 4
District 4, seat 6
Procedure for elections
First, those interested in Committee membership or participating in the voting must verify that they will be voting in the correct district.
To verify the correct district, everyone participating in the voting — including candidates, nominees and electors — should bring a current voter registration verification. This is easily done through the state’s My Voter Page (MVP).
The page will ask some very basic questions and pull information on your voter registration. It will then load a page with your voter registration. On that page is an option to “View My Precinct Card.” Click that link.
It will look like this:
Print that page and bring it with you. The county commission district in which you will be voting is displayed on this form. That will tell us where you should be nominating, running or voting.
When you arrive, people will be at the door to verify your information and provide a sticker with your name and district to wear to ensure you’re participating in the right district.
How Elections will Run
To vote or stand for a seat, you must be present at the time of voting. Per state and county Bylaws, there can be no proxy voting (casting a vote on behalf of someone else) or absentee voting (mailing ballots ahead of time).
The elections will be conducted by the Committee’s Parliamentarian.
Elections will go by district, and by seats up for election within those districts. Vacancy elections will then be conducted for presidential year election seats. Finally, the At Large seat will be elected.
Nominees/candidates will have about a minute to introduce themselves. Because the time we can use the facility is limited, everyone will be held strictly to a minute.
Since voting will go by individual seats in the district, don’t give up if you don’t win on the first seat. Candidates can still stand for the following seats on which the district will vote. (In other words, candidates get three tries.)
Georgia State Democratic Party Bylaws and County Committee Bylaws prohibit secret ballots. All voters will be provided with paper ballots. They will write the name of their chosen candidate, print their own name and sign their name.
Here is what the ballots will look like:
Write legibly for your printed name and write-in candidates.
Tabulation of the ballots will be overseen by a representative of the State Committee.
Winners of the election will be announced at the end of each voting round.
Voting will begin no later than 10:30 a.m.
State Committee Election
At the close of elections for the County Committee, the Parliamentarian will gavel the meeting closed. The County Committee Chair will then open voting for delegates to the Georgia State Democratic Party Committee.
The state apportions its seats by county population. Douglas County has three seats.
Delegates to the State Committee are expected to travel to State Committee Meetings. These meetings are held periodically in locations around the state, including Atlanta, Augusta, Savannah, Warrner Robins and others.
It is vital that members of the State Committee be willing to travel. The State Committee cannot conduct business without a quorum.
Delegates to the State Committee can only be elected by members of the County Committee. Those who have not been elected to seats on the County Committee will not be eligible to vote in the State Committee elections.
It is not necessary to be on the County Committee to serve on the State Committee.
Tips and Advice
- Be ready. If you’re seeking a seat, have your two-minute “elevator pitch” ready to go. Practice!
- Be punctual. The amount of time the County Committee has use of the facility is limited, and voting cannot wait on late arrivals.
- Be prepared. Have your voter registration information ready to go when you walk in the door.
- Be informed. Make sure you’ve read this information (we know, it’s long).
What is Expected of County Committee Membership
“All politics is local,” and the most foundational way to defend our democracy is to get involved with your local committee.
The County Committee meets virtually the first Monday of each month. Attendance is vital; the Committee cannot conduct business without a quorum. Members may be removed for missing three consecutive Committee meetings without approval from the Chair. (See Article VIII of the County Committee Bylaws for more on regular meetings.)
In addition, Committee members are expected to be active in a number of sub-committees. These sub-committees established by the County Committee Bylaws (Article IX).
These sub-committees include:
- Finance and Budget
- Bylaws, Policies and Procedures
- Hospitality
- Candidate Recruitment, Development and Speakers
- Communications
- Voter Education
- Special Events and Awards
- Fundraising
In addition, ad-hoc sub-committees may be formed as needed.
Be ready to bring your gifts! Your professional experience, interests and talents are vital to our success. Are you a graphic designer? Accountant? Attorney? Have experience working on campaigns? We need you!
Thank you for your interest in shaping the future and joining the work of the Douglas County Democratic Committee!