Thirteen high school students will run two free public candidate debates this fall in Johns Creek, giving residents a chance to hear from contenders in three state races and one county commission contest before Election Day.

The first debate is scheduled for Sept. 12 at the Chattahoochee High School Auditorium, 5230 Taylor Road, according to the Johns Creek Herald. A meet-and-greet begins at 6 p.m., with the debate running from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The lineup includes three races: Shawn Still (R) vs. Laura Murvartian (D) for State Senate District 48; Scott Hilton (R) vs. Adam Cleveland (D) for State House District 48; and Azure Duan (R) vs. Michelle Au (D) for State House District 50.

The second debate, on Monday, Oct. 5 at Rivermont Country Club, 3130 Rivermont Parkway, features the Fulton County District 1 commissioner race between Bridget Thorne (R) and Maggie Goldman (D). That event runs 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. after a 6 p.m. meet-and-greet.

Both events are free.

The moderators are members of Student Leadership NORTH's Secretary of State Ambassador team, a student-led program that pairs high schoolers with hands-on civic engagement and election education. The 13-member team includes students from Johns Creek High School (Jonah George, Olivia Koh), Chattahoochee High School (Achyut Deshpande, Prinsha Chanda), Northview High School (Chloe Choi, Claire Kwon, Neha Vajrala, Sarah Greenbaum), Alpharetta High School (Anish Balakumar, Arjun Madhok, Rahul Patkar), Innovation Academy (Nanditha Bhaaradwaj) and Centennial High School (Sheppard Finley).

The team has spent several months developing candidate questions and coordinating logistics. On debate nights, students will serve as both moderators and timekeepers.

"It is always so impressive to see these young students soak in all the current events and come up with relevant questions for the candidates, always remaining fair and impartial," Irene Sanders, executive director of Student Leadership NORTH, told The Creek magazine in an Aug. 17 article about the debates.

Student Leadership NORTH, founded in 2011, operates under the board direction of Leadership Johns Creek, a nonprofit that collaborates with Fulton County Schools. The program is in its 15th year and has produced more than 600 alumni. The ambassador team won the Georgia Secretary of State Student Ambassador Championship earlier this year.

More information is available at studentleadershipnorth.com. The general election is Nov. 3.