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Georgia Public Service Commission election, 2016
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May 24, 2016 |
November 8, 2016 |
Tim Echols (R) |
Tim Echols (R) |
None Down Ballot Public Service Commission |
March 11, 2016 |
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July 1, 2016 |
September 6, 2016 |
November 8, 2016 |
TBD |
TBD |
Georgia held an election for Public Service Commission on November 8, 2016. Incumbent Tim Echols (R) won re-election.
Overview
Public service commissioners are responsible for regulating a variety of public utilities. The exact regulatory scope of the commissions varies from state to state. The Georgia Public Service Commission is a quasi-executive, quasi-legislative state body responsible for regulating Georgia's public utilities -- that is, electric, gas, telecommunications and transportation firms. Unlike many similar bodies nationwide, the Georgia commission does not regulate water/sewer or gas providers.[1]
The commission is composed of five members who are elected in partisan elections and serve staggered, six-year terms.[1] All five are Republicans.[2]
District 2 was up for election in 2016. District 2 has been held by Tim Echols since 2011. He replaced Robert Baker Jr. (R) who represented district 2 on the commission since 1993.[3][4] Echols ran for a second term. Libertarian Eric Hoskins was the incumbent Republican's only challenger in the general election.
Candidates
A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Georgia utilizes an open primary system, in which registered voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary.[5][6]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
District 2
Tim Echols (R)
Incumbent public service commissioner
Eric Hoskins (Lib.)
Unknown
| Click [show] to see candidates defeated in the primary elections. | |||||
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Results
General election
Tim Echols defeated Eric Hoskins in the Georgia public service commission election.
| Georgia Public Service Commission, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Tim Echols |
66.81% | 2,322,353 | |
| Libertarian | Eric Hoskins | 33.19% | 1,153,582 | |
| Total Votes | 3,475,935 | |||
| Source: Georgia Secretary of State | ||||
Republican primary results
| Republican primary for Georgia public service commissioner, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
| Tim Echols |
68.9% | 370,101 | ||
| Michelle Miller | 17.9% | 96,337 | ||
| Kellie Austin | 13.1% | 70,486 | ||
| Total Votes | 536,924 | |||
| Election results via 11 Alive 2,680 of 2,682 precincts reporting. | ||||
Campaigns
Campaign finance
| Tim Echols Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| Campaign finance report | January 31, 2016 | $94,574.82 | $91,370.00 | $(135,503.49) | $50,441.33 | ||||
| Campaign finance report | March 31, 2016 | $50,441.33 | $1,375.00 | $(38,089.05) | $13,727.28 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $92,745 | $(173,592.54) | ||||||||
| Kellie Austin Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| Campaign finance report | January 31, 2016 | $0.00 | $17,600.00 | $(13,616.40) | $3,983.60 | ||||
| Campaign finance report | March 31, 2016 | $17,600.00 | $5,124.00 | $(22,232.00) | $491.95 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $22,724 | $(35,848.4) | ||||||||
| Michelle Miller Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| Campaign finance report | January 31, 2016 | $0 | $11,270.00 | $(8,270.00) | $3,000.00 | ||||
| Campaign finance report | March 31, 2016 | $3,000.00 | $2,456.00 | $(4,178.57) | $1,277.43 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $13,726 | $(12,448.57) | ||||||||
Campaign media
Declared candidates' campaign and social media sites:
Note: If a candidate is not listed below, Ballotpedia staff were unable to locate any campaign media for that candidate. Do you know of any? Tell us!
Republicans
| Kellie Austin (R) |   
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| Tim Echols (R) |
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| Michelle Miller (R) |
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About the office
Public service commissioners are responsible for making regulations covering Georgia's electric, gas, telecommunications and intrastate transportation firms. State law also gives the commission the power to hear complaints against public utilities and require utilities to maintain certain services or facilities; commissioners are authorized to "examine the affairs" of utilities and "keep informed of their general condition."[11]
Incumbents
At the time of the election, the commissioners were:
| District | Commissioner | Party | Term began |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | H. Doug Everett | (R) | 2003 |
| 2 | Tim Echols | (R) | 2011 |
| 3 | Chuck Eaton (chair) | (R) | 2007 |
| 4 | Lauren "Bubba" McDonald, Jr. (vice-chair) | (R) | 1998 |
| 5 | Stan Wise | (R) | 1995 |
Authority
The public service commission is established by the Georgia Constitution.
Georgia Constitution, Article IV, Section 1, Paragraph I
|
(a) There shall be a Public Service Commission for the regulation of utilities which shall consist of five members who shall be elected by the people. |
Qualifications
State law requires commissioners to be:
- At least 30 years old
- Qualified to vote in state elections
- Free of any financial interest in any public service utility or related business (i.e. stock, bonds, employment contract, etc.)[14]
Georgia Code, 46-2-2
|
Any person who is at least 30 years of age, is qualified to vote as an elector, and is not directly or indirectly interested in any mercantile business or any corporation that is controlled by or that participates in the benefit of any pool, combination, trust, contract, or arrangement that has the effect of increasing or tending to increase the cost to the public of carriage, heat, light, power, or any commodity or merchandise sold to the public shall be eligible for membership on the commission, without regard to his experience in law or in the utility or transportation business. |
Past elections
Commissioners are elected to six-year terms in staggered years. Each of the five commissioners resides in one of five districts, the boundaries of which are established by state law. Though each commissioner must be a resident of the district he "represents" for 12 months prior to election, commissioners are chosen in statewide elections and not by the citizens of their district. Commissioners take office on December 31 in the year of their election.[15]
2014
- District 1 General Election Results
| Public Service Commissioner of Georgia, District 1, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Doug Everett Incumbent |
68.3% | 1,532,652 | |
| Libertarian | John Monds | 31.7% | 710,408 | |
| Total Votes | 2,243,060 | |||
| Election results via Georgia Secretary of State | ||||
- District 4 General Election Results
| Public Service Commissioner of Georgia, District 4, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Bubba McDonald Incumbent |
53.4% | 1,341,182 | |
| Democratic | Daniel Blackman | 41.7% | 1,048,917 | |
| Libertarian | Robin Aaron Gilmer | 4.9% | 122,326 | |
| Total Votes | 2,512,425 | |||
| Election results via Georgia Secretary of State | ||||
2012
- District 3 General Election Results
| Georgia Public Service Commission District 3 General Election, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Chuck Eaton Incumbent |
52.1% | 1,858,663 | |
| Democratic | Stephen Oppenheimer | 43.1% | 1,537,923 | |
| Libertarian | Brad Ploeger | 4.8% | 171,138 | |
| Total Votes | 3,567,724 | |||
| Election results via Georgia Secretary of State | ||||
- District 5 General Election Results
| Georgia Public Service Commission District 5 General Election, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Stan Wise Incumbent |
65.8% | 2,110,146 | |
| Libertarian | David Staples | 34.2% | 1,095,115 | |
| Total Votes | 3,205,261 | |||
| Election results via Georgia Secretary of State | ||||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Georgia Public Service Commissioner election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
Voter turnout
Political scientist Michael McDonald's United States Elections Project studied voter turnout in the 2014 election by looking at the percentage of eligible voters who headed to the polls. McDonald used voting-eligible population (VEP), or the number of eligible voters independent of their current registration status, to calculate turnout rates in each state on November 4. He also incorporated ballots cast for the highest office in each state into his calculation. He estimated that 81,687,059 ballots were cast in the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, representing 35.9 percent of the VEP.[16] By comparison, 61.6 percent of VEP voted in the 2008 presidential election and 58.2 percent of VEP voted in the 2012 presidential election.[17]
Quick facts
- According to PBS Newshour, voter turnout in the 2014 midterms was the lowest since the 1942 midterms, which took place during the nation's involvement in World War II.[18]
- Forty-three states and the District of Columbia did not surpass 50 percent turnout in McDonald's analysis.
- The three states with the lowest turnout according to McDonald's analysis were Texas (28.3 percent), Tennessee (28.6 percent), and Indiana (28.8 percent).
- Maine (58.5 percent), Wisconsin (56.5 percent), and Colorado (54.5 percent) were the three states with the highest turnout.
- Twelve states increased voter turnout in 2014 compared to the 2010 midterm elections.[19]
| Voter turnout rates, 2014 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Total votes counted | % voter eligible population | Top statewide office up for election | Size of lead (Raw votes) | Size of lead (%) |
| Alabama | 1,191,274 | 33.2 | Governor | 320,319 | 27.2 |
| Alaska | 285,431 | 54.4 | Governor | 4,004 | 1.6 |
| Arizona | 1,537,671 | 34.1 | Governor | 143,951 | 12.5 |
| Arkansas | 852,642 | 40.1 | Governor | 118,664 | 14.0 |
| California | 7,513,972 | 30.8 | Governor | 1,065,748 | 17.8 |
| Colorado | 2,080,071 | 54.5 | Governor | 50,395 | 2.4 |
| Connecticut | 1,096,509 | 42.5 | Governor | 26,603 | 2.5 |
| Delaware | 234,038 | 34.4 | Attorney General | 31,155 | 13.6 |
| District of Columbia | 177,176 | 35.8 | Mayor | 27,934 | 19.0 |
| Florida | 6,026,802 | 43.3 | Governor | 66,127 | 1.1 |
| Georgia | 2,596,947 | 38.5 | Governor | 202,685 | 8.0 |
| Hawaii | 369,554 | 36.5 | Governor | 45,323 | 12.4 |
| Idaho | 445,307 | 39.6 | Governor | 65,852 | 14.9 |
| Illinois | 3,680,417 | 40.9 | Governor | 171,900 | 4.9 |
| Indiana | 1,387,622 | 28.8 | Secretary of State | 234,978 | 17.8 |
| Iowa | 1,142,284 | 50.2 | Governor | 245,548 | 21.8 |
| Kansas | 887,023 | 43.4 | Governor | 33,052 | 3.9 |
| Kentucky | 1,435,868 | 44.0 | U.S. Senate | 222,096 | 15.5 |
| Louisiana | 1,472,039 | 43.8 | U.S. Senate | 16,401 | 1.1 |
| Maine | 616,996 | 58.5 | Governor | 29,820 | 4.9 |
| Maryland | 1,733,177 | 41.5 | Governor | 88,648 | 6.1 |
| Massachusetts | 2,186,789 | 44.6 | Governor | 40,361 | 1.9 |
| Michigan | 3,188,956 | 43.2 | Governor | 129,547 | 4.3 |
| Minnesota | 1,992,613 | 50.5 | Governor | 109,776 | 5.6 |
| Mississippi | 631,858 | 28.9 | U.S. Senate | 141,234 | 33.0 |
| Missouri | 1,426,303 | 31.8 | Auditor | 684,074 | 53.6 |
| Montana | 373,831 | 47.3 | U.S. Senate | 65,262 | 17.9 |
| Nebraska | 552,115 | 41.5 | Governor | 97,678 | 18.7 |
| Nevada | 547,349 | 29.0 | Governor | 255,793 | 46.7 |
| New Hampshire | 495,565 | 48.4 | Governor | 24,924 | 5.2 |
| New Jersey | 1,955,042 | 32.5 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| New Mexico | 512,805 | 35.7 | Governor | 73,868 | 14.6 |
| New York | 3,930,310 | 29.0 | Governor | 476,252 | 13.4 |
| North Carolina | 2,939,767 | 41.2 | U.S. Senate | 48,511 | 1.7 |
| North Dakota | 255,128 | 45.0 | U.S. House At-large seat | 42,214 | 17.1 |
| Ohio | 3,149,876 | 36.2 | Governor | 933,235 | 30.9 |
| Oklahoma | 824,831 | 29.8 | Governor | 122,060 | 14.7 |
| Oregon | 1,541,782 | 53.5 | Governor | 59,029 | 4.5 |
| Pennsylvania | 3,495,866 | 36.0 | Governor | 339,261 | 9.8 |
| Rhode Island | 329,212 | 42.2 | Governor | 14,346 | 4.5 |
| South Carolina | 1,261,611 | 35.2 | Governor | 179,089 | 14.6 |
| South Dakota | 282,291 | 44.9 | Governor | 124,865 | 45.1 |
| Tennessee | 1,374,065 | 28.6 | Governor | 642,214 | 47.5 |
| Texas | 4,727,208 | 28.3 | Governor | 957,973 | 20.4 |
| Utah | 577,973 | 30.2 | Attorney General | 173,819 | 35.2 |
| Vermont | 193,087 | 38.8 | Governor | 2,095 | 1.1 |
| Virginia | 2,194,346 | 36.6 | U.S. Senate | 16,727 | 0.8 |
| Washington | 2,123,901 | 43.1 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| West Virginia | 451,498 | 31.2 | U.S. Senate | 124,667 | 27.6 |
| Wisconsin | 2,410,314 | 56.5 | Governor | 137,607 | 5.7 |
| Wyoming | 168,390 | 39.3 | Governor | 52,703 | 33.6 |
Note: Information from the United States Elections Project was last updated on December 16, 2014.
State profile
| Demographic data for Georgia | ||
|---|---|---|
| Georgia | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 10,199,398 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 57,513 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 60.2% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 30.9% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 3.6% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.3% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2.1% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 9.1% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 85.4% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 28.8% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $49,620 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 21.1% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Georgia. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
- See also: Presidential voting trends in Georgia
Georgia voted Republican in six out of the seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, five are located in Georgia, accounting for 2.43 percent of the total pivot counties.[20]
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Georgia had five Retained Pivot Counties, 2.76 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.
More Georgia coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Georgia
- United States congressional delegations from Georgia
- Public policy in Georgia
- Endorsers in Georgia
- Georgia fact checks
- More...
See also
|
Georgia government: |
Previous elections: |
Ballotpedia exclusives: |
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Georgia Public Service Commission, "Home," accessed February 23, 2014
- ↑ Georgia Public Service Commission, "Meet the commission," accessed February 23, 2014
- ↑ Public Service Commission, "2010 Annual Report," accessed May 7, 2016
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State: Election results, "Public Service Commissioner," accessed May 7, 2016
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Primary Election Types," accessed August 12, 2024
- ↑ Justia, "2023 Georgia Code § 21-2-224 - Registration deadlines; restrictions on voting in primaries; official list of electors; voting procedure when portion of county changed from one county to another," accessed August 12, 2024
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Georgia Secretary of State, "Qualifying Candidate Information," accessed March 14, 2015
- ↑ Vote Kellie, "Issues," accessed May 7, 2016
- ↑ Vote Kellie, "Platform," accessed May 7, 2016
- ↑ Michelle Miller Public Service Commissioner, "Issues," accessed May 7, 2016
- ↑ Georgia Code, "46-2-20," accessed September 19, 2011
- ↑ The Atlanta Business Journal, "Georgia PSC re-elects Eaton chairman," November 4, 2014
- ↑ Georgia Public Service Commission, "Meet the commission," accessed February 23, 2014
- ↑ Georgia Code, "46-2-2," accessed September 19, 2011
- ↑ http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/gacode/ Georgia Code, "46-2-1," accessed September 19, 2011]
- ↑ United States Elections Project, "2014 November General Election Turnout Rates," November 7, 2014
- ↑ TIME, "Voter Turnout in Midterm Elections Hits 72-Year Low," November 10, 2014
- ↑ PBS, "2014 midterm election turnout lowest in 70 years," November 10, 2014
- ↑ U.S. News & World Report, "Midterm Turnout Down in 2014," November 5, 2014
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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