By Mark Woolsey

Early voting kicks off Saturday for the Feb. 11 special primary election in Cobb County, which will lead up to an April special election in Cobb County commission districts 2 and 4.

The early voting period runs from Feb. 1 to Feb. 7. No voting  is scheduled Feb. 8 -10. Election day is Tuesday, Feb 11 with polls open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Hours for voting during the advance period are: 7.a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Locations are: The main elections office, 995 Roswell St. NE Marietta, the Old Clarksdale Park Community Center, 153 Mathis Drive SW, Austell, South Cobb Community Center, 620 Lions Club Drive, Mableton and  the Smyrna Community Center, 1250 Powder Springs St.  SE, Smyrna

The election became necessary after a ruling by Superior Court Judge Kellie Hill. Hill ruled that an earlier primary was invalid because the county had used a locally drawn “home rule map,” bypassing state-drawn districts in Cobb. Hill mandated the two commission seats must be decided in a special vote using the legislature’s boundaries instead.

Three Democrats are vying for the District 2 Democratic nomination: Former State Rep. Erick Allen, ex-Cobb  school board member Jaha Howard and East Cobb resident Tracy Stevenson. A fourth Democrat dropped out.

Alicia Adams is the sole GOP candidate for the District 2 seat.

In District 4, attorney Yashica Marshall and incumbent Monique Sheffield qualified for the special Democratic primary, while small business owner  Julien Grhas and video engineer Matthew Hardwick are running as Republicans.

The special general election is set for April 29.