No Gwinnett school board seat is on Tuesday's ballot. A school tax question is, and so is the race for Georgia's State School Superintendent. What the homestead question would change, who it covers, and how to look up your board member.
No Gwinnett County Board of Education seat is on the November 3, 2026 ballot. The school items Gwinnett voters will see are a special election question that would expand a $2,000 school tax homestead exemption to disabled veterans and all employees of Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) and Buford City Schools, and the statewide race for State School Superintendent.
That's according to the county's consolidated sample ballot for the November 3 General Election and Special Election, checked October 29, 2026. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern. Advance in person voting ended Friday, October 30, 2026.
What is the Gwinnett homestead exemption question?
The question asks whether a school tax break that already exists for some public workers should cover more people. Here is the question as worded in the Gwinnett County Board of Registrations and Elections' call for special election, dated May 19, 2026:
"Shall the existing additional $2,000 homestead exemption from Gwinnett County School District ad valorem taxes for educational purposes for certain public service employees be expanded to also apply to disabled veterans and all employees of the Gwinnett County School District and the Buford City School District?"
A yes vote expands the exemption. A no vote leaves it as is. The call says that if more than half of the votes cast are yes, the change takes effect January 1, 2027. If it fails, or if the election isn't held, that section never takes effect and the law behind it, House Bill 540, is automatically repealed 365 days after May 19, 2026.
Only voters in the Gwinnett County school district decide it. The call says the special election "shall be conducted in the precincts of Gwinnett County school district."
Who gets the exemption now?
The current exemption came from House Bill 748, which Gwinnett voters approved in May 2024 and which took effect January 1, 2025, according to the Gwinnett County Tax Commissioner. It takes $2,000 off a home's assessed value for school district taxes. The Tax Commissioner estimates the savings at about $37.40 a year, based on 2025 millage rates. Actual savings for any home depend on the millage rates in effect when the bill is calculated.
Today it covers homeowners who live in their home and, on January 1 of the tax year, work as one of these:
A firefighter, paramedic, certified peace officer or other law enforcement officer employed by a government or school system.
A teacher, paraprofessional or administrator employed by GCPS or Buford City Schools.
A person employed by, or holding staff privileges at, a hospital in Gwinnett County.
An active duty member of the U.S. armed forces, including reserves, the National Guard and the Coast Guard.
What would change if it passes?
Two groups would be added. The text of House Bill 540 replaces "teacher, paraprofessional or administrator" with any "person employed by the Gwinnett County School District or Buford City School District." It also adds disabled veterans, as Georgia's property tax law defines them.
School employees outside those three job titles would qualify for the first time. So would disabled veterans who own and live in a home in the school district.
It isn't automatic. The Tax Commissioner says homeowners must apply for the current exemption with a letter from their employer, and that it's one exemption per home, not per person. Once approved, it renews each year. The Tax Commissioner's property tax line is 770 822 8800.
The version of HB 540 posted by the governor's office told the county to hold this vote "on the date of the general primary in 2026," which was May 19, 2026. The county's call, issued that same day, set it for November 3, 2026 instead. The call doesn't say why.
Who is running for State School Superintendent?
Incumbent Republican Richard Woods faces Democrat Lydia Powell, according to the Gwinnett sample ballot. The State School Superintendent is a statewide office, not a GCPS position, and leads the Georgia Department of Education.
Why aren't Gwinnett school board seats on the ballot?
Gwinnett school board races are nonpartisan, and the county held its 2026 board elections on May 19, 2026. Two of the five seats were up. In District II, Chelsea Hutchings defeated incumbent Steven B. Knudsen, 13,582 votes to 13,210. In District IV, incumbent Adrienne Simmons defeated Camille Christopher, 19,898 to 12,512, according to the county's official election summary report for that date.
As of October 29, 2026, the GCPS board page still lists Knudsen for District II in its 2026 roster. Hutchings won in May but starts on the board early next year, WSB TV reported.
How do I find my GCPS board district?
Your board district depends on where you live, not where your child goes to school. The GCPS board page says representation "is determined by residential addresses rather than the designated school(s) attended by students."
There are three official ways to check:
Sign in to the Georgia Secretary of State's My Voter Page, which lists your elected officials, your polling place and your sample ballot. Gwinnett County's elections page links to the same address.
Open the county's Board of Education districts map, posted on the Gwinnett elections district maps page with a Spanish version.
Use the district map linked from the GCPS board page, which lists the five current members with their districts.
To reach your member, email MySchoolBoard@gcpsk12.org or call the Coordinator of Board Services at 678 301 6040. The board's next work session is Tuesday, November 17, 2026, at 6 p.m., and its business meeting is Thursday, November 19, 2026, at 7 p.m., at 437 Old Peachtree Road NW in Suwanee.
For your Election Day polling place, use the county's polling place locator or My Voter Page. Georgia requires a valid photo ID to vote in person.
What should I bring to the polls on November 3, 2026?
The county's Election Day page lists six kinds of accepted ID: a Georgia driver's license, a Georgia voter ID card or other government issued photo ID, a U.S. passport, a government employee photo ID, a U.S. military photo ID, or a tribal photo ID.
You can bring a marked sample ballot or written notes into the voting booth, the county says, as long as you take them with you when you leave. Spanish language help and Spanish ballots are available because Gwinnett is covered by Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act.
If a poll worker can't confirm you're eligible, you can ask for a provisional ballot. Two state pages give different deadlines for fixing the problem afterward. The Election Day listing on georgia.gov says within three days after Election Day, while the site's 2026 General Election page says by the end of the next day. Contact the Gwinnett Elections Office the next day to be safe. If you show up at the wrong precinct and can't reach yours by 7 p.m., the county says you can vote provisionally with a signed affidavit, but district specific races "would most likely not be counted." Ballot status goes up on the county's provisional ballot page five days after the election, or call the Elections Office at 678 226 7210.