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DeKalb County, GA – There are nine candidates for DeKalb County Sheriff on the March 24 ballot, the same day as the state’s presidential primary.

Do you know who you’re voting for? Decaturish won’t be making any endorsements but has provided opportunities to help you learn more about the candidates running for this position. All of our election coverage may be found at Decaturishvotes.com.

If no single candidate for sheriff gets more than 50 percent of the votes, the top two candidates will compete in a run-off election scheduled for April 21. DeKalb voters will elect a new full-term sheriff in May for the term to begin in 2021. For more information about voting in the March 24 election, check out the end of this article.

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department is one of three county-wide law enforcement agencies in DeKalb County – a fact that can be confusing for people who move here. Georgia’s state constitution mandates that each county has an elected sheriff who serves as the county’s top law enforcement official. In DeKalb, the sheriff’s department is primarily responsible for operating and maintaining the DeKalb County Jail, providing security for the courthouse and county buildings, and for administering and executing warrants within the county. According to the department’s website, the office’s fugitive unit is known for arresting 98 percent of murder suspects within 72 hours of receiving the arrest warrant.

Here are the Q&A responses from all of the candidates for Sheriff who replied to our questionnaire:

Candidate Q&A – Ruth Stringer, candidate for DeKalb County Sheriff

Candidate Q&A – Kyle Keith Jones, candidate for DeKalb County Sheriff

Candidate Q&A – Ted Golden, candidate for DeKalb County Sheriff

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Candidate Q&A – Melody Maddox (incumbent), candidate for DeKalb County Sheriff

Candidate Q&A – Antonio ‘Block’ Johnson, candidate for DeKalb County Sheriff

Candidate Q&A – Adam Gardner, candidate for DeKalb County Sheriff

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Candidate Q&A – Harold Dennis, candidate for DeKalb County Sheriff

Candidate Q&A – Carl Mobley, candidate for DeKalb County Sheriff

More information about voting in the March 24 election:

The voter registration deadline for the March 24 presidential primary was Feb. 24.

You can look up your status by visiting the Georgia Secretary of State’s “My Voter Page.” To visit the My Voter Page, click here. You can check your status by providing basic information like your last name, birthday and the county you live in. You can also see a sample ballot.

If you find you are not registered and want to be registered in time for the next election, there are a few ways you can get back on the voter rolls.

You can register online with the Secretary of State’s Office by clicking here.

According to the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office, in order to register to vote you must:

– Be a citizen of the United States

– Be a legal resident of the county where you are voting

– Be at least 17 1/2 years of age to register and 18 years of age to vote

– Not be serving a sentence for conviction of a felony involving moral turpitude

– Have not been found mentally incompetent by a judge

For more information about how to register, click here.

People who wish to vote will need to bring one of the following forms of identification, according to the Georgia Secretary of State’s office:

– Any valid state or federal government-issued photo ID, including a free ID Card issued by your county registrar’s office or the Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS)

– A Georgia Driver’s License, even if expired

– Valid employee photo ID from any branch, department, agency, or entity of the U.S. Government, Georgia, or any county, municipality, board, authority or other entity of this state

– Valid U.S. passport ID

– Valid U.S. military photo ID

– Valid tribal photo ID

The county board of registrar’s office is located at 4380 Memorial Drive Suite, 300, Decatur, GA 30032.

Early voting will begin on March 2. Here is a list of advanced voting dates and times from the county Board of Registration and Elections:

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Editor’s note: Writer Cathi Harris contributed to this story.