Image of the I’m a Georgia Voter Sticker, October 15, 2020. Photo Credit: Flickr/Thomas Cizauskas
The presidential election is often viewed in the United States as the most important election to vote in. Because of this, it has a much higher turnout than other national, state and local elections.
This shows a concerning lack of political engagement amongst US voters. However, on Nov. 4, voters in the state of Georgia can show the country why it matters to vote in state elections.
On Nov. 4, Georgia has elections for Georgia Public Service Commission, a five-seat position that determines if the cost of electricity in Georgia is wallet-breaking or not.
Usually, Georgia Public Service Commission has a low voter turnout. However, this year, Georgia needs voters to step up.
The election has unprecedented consequences that are largely not brought up by Georgia state politicians: Georgia Power asked state regulators the approval to addition of a “10 gigawatts of power” to the Georgia power grid.
This amount of power is more than enough for the entire Atlanta metro area.
The reason for this is for potential Data Centers that might move into the state. These additions are only hypothetical, but this added power would account for 80% of the proposed new energy demand.
This power, if approved, would require a large sum of money that would potentially come out of Georgia residents’ pockets, not the companies that already have enough funds to create these wasteful centers in the first place.
While there is a freeze-rate until 2028, the Georgia Public Service Commission determines the cost of energy for Georgia residents. If affordable cost of living is something that Georgia voters want, they need to show up on Nov. 4 to fight for it.
The election cycle, which now falls in 2025 instead of 2024, was delayed in 2022 due to a federal judge ruling that the way Georgia votes for Public Service Commission violated “the voting rights act,” though a higher court later reversed that decision.
This election has the potential change the Public Service Commission system in Georgia as a whole.
On the Nov. 4 ballot, there are two seats to vote on for Georgia Public Service Commission. On one seat, the candidates are Tim Echols (R) and Alicia M. Johnson (D), and on the other, the candidates are Fitz Johnson (R) and Peter Hubbard (D).
Both Republican candidates are incumbent, meaning they are the current Georgia Public Service Commission. If voters want Georgia Public Service Commission to be more balanced, having at least one Democrat would interrupt Republican bias for one term.
All candidates have websites with their campaigns for voters to research make an educated decision.
Georgia residents need to look out for one another and ensure affordable living costs through the Georgia Public Service Commission. If Georgia voters want to be politically engaged and active in their community, they must show up and vote in this important election.
