Matt Hamilton/Daily Citizen-NewsSmythe Duval, a Libertarian Party candidate for secretary of state, speaks during the League of Women Voters of the Dalton Area meeting on Friday.

DALTON, Ga. — The governor’s race will probably get much of the attention this year as Georgia elections heat up.

“But we think the secretary of state is pretty important, too,” said League of Women Voters of the Dalton Area board member Jevin Jensen.

The secretary of state’s office manages professional licensing in Georgia and oversees elections.

“We wanted to hear from the candidates, so we invited all the qualified candidates — Democrat, Republican and Libertarian,” Jensen said.

Four of those candidates — Democrat Dee Dawkins-Haigler, Libertarian Smythe Duval and Republicans Buzz Brockway and Josh McKoon — spoke Friday at the League’s annual luncheon.

League President Helen Crawford said the group is nonpartisan and does not endorse candidates. The meeting, she said, was for League members and others to learn more about the candidates.

Former state representative Dawkins-Haigler of Lithonia said many voters are concerned about Georgia’s election system.

“Democrats don’t trust it. Republicans don’t trust it. Independents don’t trust it,” she said.

She said she has been advocating paper ballots for five years. She said if elected she would push the Legislature to adopt a voting system that combines electronic voting with voters receiving paper verification that their votes were recorded accurately. She said she would also like the Legislature to create an independent commission to draw congressional and state legislative district lines rather than lawmakers doing it themselves.

Duval, who lives in East Cobb County, described himself as the only citizen candidate in the race, since he has not previously held elected office.

“We need political competition,” he said, noting that in the latest election eight out of 10 incumbents in the Legislature did not face an opponent in the general election.

Duval also advocates for an independent commission, not the Legislature, to draw district lines. He called for same-day voter registration, which would allow people to register to vote up to the day of the election. Registration currently ends 28 days before an election.

Brockway, who lives in Lawrenceville and represents the 102nd District in the state House, said as he has been campaigning across the state he has been talking to local elections officials and is concerned.

“They are often literally buying old voting machines off eBay to get parts for their voting machines,” he said.

He said the secretary of state must push lawmakers to buy new voting machines that provide voters with a paper record to make sure their votes are recorded accurately.

He said he would push for reform of the state’s professional licensing system. He noted that 50 years ago, just 5 percent of jobs required a state license and today 30 percent do. He said those increasing requirements are a barrier to people working.

McKoon, who lives in Columbus and represents District 29 in the state Senate, said he would push for greater ballot access for independents and third-party candidates.

“I believe in the free market. I believe in competition,” he said.

McKoon said he would work to reform Georgia professional licensing, noting that it takes more training to be licensed as a makeup artist than as an emergency medical technician.

“That tells you that something is wrong with the system,” he said.

In addition to those candidates, former U.S. representative John Barrow of Athens and Rockdale County Tax Commissioner Rakeim “RJ” Hadley have qualified for the race as Democrats, according to the secretary of state’s website. And former Alpharetta mayor David Belle Isle and state Rep. Brad Raffensperger of Johns Creek have qualified as Republicans.