ATLANTA — Election season is officially underway in Georgia as early voting begins Tuesday for many races statewide, including the Atlanta mayoral race.

More than a dozen people are hoping to replace current Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. In a surprise move, Bottoms announced earlier this year that she will not seek a second term.

We’re going over everything you need to know about early voting, on Channel 2 Action News

The candidates are: Atlanta City Councilman Antonio Brown, Atlanta City Councilman Andre Dickens, real estate investor Kirsten Dunn, Nolan English, attorney Sharon Gay, Mark Hammad, nonprofit founder Kenneth Hill, insurance executive Rebecca King, Atlanta city council president Felicia Moore, former Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed, legal scholar Walter Reeves, businessman Roosevelt Searles III, public accountant Richard Wright and Glenn Wrightson.

[LINK: Find your early voting location here]

The top five candidates, including Brown, Dickens, Gay, Moore and Reed made their case for mayor during a live debate on Channel 2.

[WATCH: The Atlanta Mayoral Debate: A WSB-TV Special Presentation]

Channel 2 Action News went to the CT Martin Recreation Center on Monday and saw elections workers training on their equipment.

Outside, Betty Williams said she plans to vote early.

“I think it’s important for people to vote so that they can express their rights, and let their rights be known,” Williams said.

[2021 Georgia election guide: Key dates, voter registration and candidates]

On Monday, the Fulton County Elections Director fired two employees accused of shredding paper voter registration applications. Richard Barron said that 300 applications related to municipal elections were shredded within the last two weeks.

Anyone who tries to vote in an upcoming election but is not registered will be able to vote on a provisional ballot, and further investigations will follow.

Other races that also begin Tuesday are for city council, municipal court judge, school boards, state legislative special elections and local ballot measures.

The general election is Nov. 2.

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