Advance voting for local municipal elections and a special election to fill a recent vacancy in the Georgia General Assembly begins today.

There are contested elections for positions on the city councils in Gainesville, Flowery Branch, Clermont and Lula. A referendum on Sunday alcohol sales also is on the ballot in Gainesville, Flowery Branch and Oakwood.

Also, in Hall County there is a special election to complete the term of former Rep. James Mills, who resigned from the General Assembly to take a position on the state Board of Pardons and Paroles.

Candidates seeking to replace his District 25 seat include Bobby Banks, a former Hall County commissioner; businessman Emory Dunahoo Jr.; sole Democrat in the race Paul Wayne Godfrey; businessman Dominic Ottaviano; businessman Todd Reed; attorney Sonny Sykes; and former Flowery Branch Councilman Kris Yardley.

There will be no party primary, but party affiliation will be listed on the ballot.

The special election to fill Mills' seat will cause some voters in Gainesville, Flowery Branch and Oakwood to have to vote in two different places — a city polling location and a county polling location — on election day.

But Gainesville and county elections officials say that voters can address both elections in one stop if they vote early.

In Hall County, advance voting occurs at the Hall County Elections Office at 2285 Browns Bridge Road.

The advance voting period ends Nov. 4. The election will be held on Nov. 8.