Candidates made their final appeals to voters Monday in preparation for Tuesday, when polls throughout Georgia will be open 7 a.m.-7 p.m. to decide Democratic, Republican and nonpartisan elections.

In cases in which all candidates running for a particular office are in the same party, that party primary will effectively determine who will assume that office in January. Runoff elections for races in which no candidate secures a majority of the votes cast in his or her party or nonpartisan primary race are to be conducted July 26.

One thing voters should keep in mind is that those who vote in a party’s primary on Tuesday can only vote in runoff elections that the same party has in July.

Offices being sought by candidates from two or more parties will be determined in the general election on Nov. 8.

According to the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office, there are nearly 4.9 million voters eligible to cast ballots in the Tuesday election. Looking at metro Albany, according to the state numbers that were dated April 26, 43,723 people are eligible to vote in Dougherty County, 23,170 in Lee County, 1,867 in Baker County, 5,407 in Terrell County and 9,962 in Worth County.

In Dougherty County, at least 2,820 voters, about 6.45 percent of those eligible to vote in the county, have already cast ballots, either through the mail or in person during the early voting period that ended Friday.

The Dougherty County Elections Office reported Monday that 2,409 voters cast ballots in person during the early voting period. Another 688 ballots have been mailed to voters who requested them, and 411 mail-in votes have been accepted by the Elections Office.

While county and state district races have generated the most interest, there are federal offices to be decided on the ballots as well.

In the 2nd Congressional District, which includes metro Albany with the exception of Worth County, Greg Duke, an optician from Lee County, is vying against Diane Vann, a registered nurse from Macon, for the opportunity to run against U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, D-Albany, on Nov. 8. Bishop has no Democratic opposition.

In the 8th Congressional District, which includes Worth County, U.S. Rep. Austin Scott, R-Tifton, has a Republican challenger Tuesday — Angela Hicks, a business owner from Macon. The winner will face James Neal Harris, a private investigator from Gray who is the lone Democrat running for the seat.

Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Marietta, has drawn opposition within the GOP and from Democrats in his re-election bid.

Republican voters Tuesday will select a Senate candidate from Isakson; Derrick Grayson, a network engineer from Redan, and Mary Kay Bacallao, a college professor from Fayetteville.

Democratic voters Tuesday also will select from three candidates for the Senate seat: Jim Barksdale, an Atlanta businessman; Cheryl Copeland, a Hiram project manager, and John F. Coyne III, an Atlanta business executive.