Editing Gilmer County, Georgia (section)

==Government and politics==
Gilmer County is governed by a three-member board of commissioners. The current{{when|date=January 2025}} board chairman is Charlie Paris. The Post 1 commissioner is Hubert Parker and the Post 2 commissioner is Karleen Ferguson. Other current government officials include: Sheriff, Stacy Nicholson; Probate Judge, Scott Chastain; Magistrate Judge, Kevin Johnson; Clerk of Court, Amy Johnson; Tax Commissioner, Rebecca Marshall; Coroner, Jerry Hensley. All are members of the Republican Party.

Some of the past chairmen of the board of commissioners include J.C. Sanford (2011–2014), Mark Chastain (2009–2010), Jerry Farist (2005–2008), and Rayburn Smith (1997–2004). Merle Howell served as the first chairman of the three-member board starting on January 1, 1996. She was recalled by the voters of Gilmer County, who elected Rayburn Smith in July 1997.

Until 1988, Gilmer County was governed by a sole commissioner. Cicero Logan served as commissioner from 1946 until 1959. Harold Hefner was elected in 1958 and served from 1959 until 1972. Gilmer County's last sole commissioner was Benjamin N. Whitaker, who served from 1973 until 1988.

In 1988, Gilmer County changed to a five-member board of commissioners, who then hired a “county manager” to run day-to-day operations of the county. The first five-member board included Mack Logan, Ruel Reece, Garvin Davis Jr., John Penland, and Charles Aaron. Jim Bailey served as county manager.

===Politics===
The voters of Gilmer, like neighboring Rabun, Towns, Pickens, and Fannin Counties, were different in their historic partisan preferences from other parts of Georgia. Since the post-Civil War period, it had a competitive Republican party. At the turn of the 20th century, the [[Disfranchisement after Reconstruction era|disfranchisement of most Blacks]] in Georgia resulted in the state's White conservatives voting mostly for Democratic candidates at the state and national level. In contrast, these northern Georgia counties voted for Republican presidential candidates in several early 20th-century elections.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}} 
{{PresHead|place=Gilmer County, Georgia|source=<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|last=Leip|first=David|website=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=March 20, 2018}}</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|2024|Republican|14,976|3,413|111|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|2020|Republican|13,429|2,932|166|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|10,477|1,965|406|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|2012|Republican|8,926|1,958|169|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|2008|Republican|8,408|2,614|164|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|2004|Republican|7,414|2,510|99|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|2000|Republican|4,941|2,230|199|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1996|Republican|3,121|2,464|776|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1992|Republican|2,661|2,311|916|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1988|Republican|3,353|1,363|30|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1984|Republican|2,972|1,234|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1980|Democratic|2,170|2,246|121|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1976|Democratic|1,261|2,499|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|2,729|768|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1968|Republican|2,074|690|1,259|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1964|Republican|2,167|2,159|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1960|Republican|1,850|1,472|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1956|Republican|1,857|1,275|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1952|Democratic|1,324|1,359|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1948|Democratic|1,203|1,275|62|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1944|Democratic|793|884|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1940|Democratic|653|865|3|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1936|Democratic|1,047|1,128|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|616|1,210|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1928|Republican|1,012|529|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1924|Republican|912|776|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1920|Republican|662|546|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1916|Democratic|258|742|560|Georgia}}
{{PresFoot|1912|Democratic|52|488|116|Georgia}}