Voters will have two chances to compare local candidates Tuesday evening, at back-to-back political forums most of them are expected to attend.

Today marks the first day in-person voting takes place for the Nov. 6 general election.

Any Floyd County voter may cast a ballot from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the second floor of the County Administration Building, 12 E. Fourth Ave. The site will be open Monday through Friday, through Nov. 2.

First up on Tuesday is a 5 p.m. forum at the Rome Civic Center on Jackson Hill. The free event is sponsored by The Rome/Floyd County NAACP, The 100 Black Men of Rome/Northwest Georgia and the MLK Commission.

Organizer Alvin Jackson said the forum will start off with a meet-and-greet period; an opportunity talk individually with the candidates. Refreshments will be served.

The formal proceedings will include candidate statements and responses to questions formulated by a panel of volunteers. Attendees also will be able to submit questions in writing at the door.

At 6:30 p.m., some of the candidates will start heading toward the forum sponsored by the Floyd County Republican Women. The free event is at the Charles C. Parker Center in Etowah Park.

Elaine Watson, president of the FCRW, said neither organization knew of the other’s plans when they made their arrangements.

“It wasn’t done on purpose. This was the date available at the Etowah center,” she said.

Still, most of the candidates have said they’ll try to make both events and Watson has scheduled the matchups to accommodate those who asked.

“I haven’t heard from the two Democratic county commission candidates, so we’ve put that one first,” she said.

Incumbent Republicans Garry Fricks and Irwin Bagwell are being challenged for their county commission posts by Democrats Gary D. Harrell and Rick Garrett.

Attendees will then hear from the sheriff candidates, incumbent Democrat Tim Burkhalter and his Republican opponent Cary Cooper.

Watson said she’s also received confirmations from the clerk of court candidates — Democrat Barbara Penson, the incumbent, and Republican Mark McAllister — and from state House Rep. Barbara Massey Reece, D-Menlo, and her Republican challenger, former Floyd County commissioner Eddie Lumsden.

Click to see the My Voter page to check your registration status and to see a sample ballot.

Floyd County General Election Contested Races

Most Floyd County races are down to a single candidate de-cided in the July 31 primaries. The following seats are contested in the Nov. 6 general election:

U.S. Congress, District 14

(Covers Floyd, Chattooga, Polk, Gordon, Walker, Dade, Ca-toosa, Whitfield, Murray, Haralson and Paulding counties)

Democrat: Daniel “Danny” Grant

Republican: Tom Graves (I)

State House, District 12

(Covers all of Chattooga and the western half of Floyd County)

Democrat: Barbara Massey Reece (I)

Republican: Eddie Lumsden

Floyd County Clerk of Court

Democrat: Barbara Penson (I)

Republican: Mark McAllister

Floyd County Sheriff

Democrat: Tim Burkhalter (I)

Republican: Cary Cooper

Floyd County Commission Post 2

Democrat: Gary D. Harrell

Republican: Garry E. Fricks (I)

Floyd County Commission Post 3

Democrat: Richard C. Garrett

Republican: Irwin Bagwell (I)

Floyd County School Board District 2

(Model and Johnson communities)

Democrat: Everett Ballard

Republican: David Cox (I)