LaGRANGE — The Troup County Republican Party is slated to host a meet-and-greet for election candidates Thursday at Hollis Hand Elementary School.

The two-hour program will begin at 6 p.m. in the school’s auditorium and Republican candidates in contested elections will have five minutes each to introduce themselves, according to Ashley McCoy, the county GOP treasurer.

Candidates for school board, which is nonpartisan, have also been invited to speak at the event along with Troup County Sheriff James Woodruff, a Republican in an uncontested primary, but contested general election.

“We are excited to have a lot of good candidates that are running, and one of our jobs is to make sure people are informed when they go to the polls on election day,” McCoy said.

If time permits, the audience will have the opportunity to ask the candidates questions, and McCoy added many candidates will be on hand after the program to answer questions one-on-one.

The following individuals are running local, contested races in the Republican primary or school board on May 24:

Troup County Board of Commissioners

• Ellis P. Cadenhead of Priddy Road, LaGrange, Republican, District 2.

• William H. Lee of Lincoln Street, Hogansville, Republican, District 2.

• Lewis C. Davis Jr. of Mooty Bridge Road, Franklin, Republican, District 3.

• Tripp Foster of Independence Court, LaGrange, incumbent, Republican, District 3.

Troup County Tax Commissioner

• Bill Hunnicutt IV of Piney Woods Drive, LaGrange, Republican.

• P. Shane Frailey of West Point Road, LaGrange, Republican.

• Ronnie LeFevers of Wooding Place, LaGrange, Republican.

Troup County Board of Education

• John Asbell of Ashford Circle, LaGrange, nonpartisan, District 5.

• Kendall Butler of East Yorktown Drive, LaGrange, nonpartisan, District 5.

• Catherine Sargent Hunt of Merrill Lane, nonpartisan, District 5.

• Joe Franklin of Glass Bridge Road, LaGrange, nonpartisan, District 6.

• Rodell Poole of Plymouth Drive, LaGrange, nonpartisan, District 6.

• Dorothy Corry Jennings of Byron Hurst Street, LaGrange, nonpartisan, District 6.

To vote in the May 24 primary, citizens must be registered by April 26. Applicants must be a U.S. citizen, a legal resident of the county, at least 17 ½ years old on the day of registration and 18 by election day, not serving a sentence for conviction of a felony involving moral turpitude and must not have been found mentally incompetent by a judge.

Area residents can register to vote at the Troup County Government Center, 100 Ridley Ave. in LaGrange, during weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Georgians can also register to vote online through the secretary of state’s secure website at https://registertovote.sos.ga.gov.

Early voting begins May 2 and is available until May 20. Saturday voting will be held May 14. Anyone registered to vote in Troup County may cast early ballots at the Troup County Government Center in downtown LaGrange.

Mail-in absentee ballots are available now and may be obtained from the Troup County elections office in the government center. Call the elections office as 706-883-1745 for more information.

The general election will be held Nov. 8.