With the procedural changes in Georgia’s recent election law, Georgians may be unsure of what voting looks like this year versus last year. Especially regarding absentee ballots, as they were such a pivotal tool in last year’s election and hold strong interest due to the ongoing COVID pandemic. 

Georgia runs under a Request-Required, Mail-In Ballot absentee ballot system. This means the VOTER MUST MAKE THE REQUEST for an absentee ballot. The absentee ballot will not be sent to the voter otherwise.

 

For this upcoming election on November 2nd, you must have been registered to vote prior to October 4th. 

Applications are currently open! As a registered voter, you can find the absentee ballot application here. This application can be returned via mail, fax, email (as an attachment!), or in-person to the local County Board of Registrar’s Office. The address, email, phone number, and fax number of your Registrar’s Office can be found at this link. In the dropdown, select the county you vote in, then the address, phone, email, and fax number of your Registrar will appear. 

The process can be as simple as downloading the ballot application .pdf, filling it out, and emailing it back to your Registrar Office’s email. This year, however, absentee ballot requests will require voters to provide their driver’s license number, the last four digits of their SSN, or a photocopy of an I.D. deemed acceptable. For a step-by-step guide on how to fill out and return your ballot when received, Georgia Voter Guide has an excellent step-by-step guide. 

The recent decrease in drop boxes is one of the most contested aspects of Georgia’s recent voting changes. If you are unsure of where a good drop-box is for you, contact your Registrar’s Office (info at this link) again, or deliver it to the office directly.

In person early voting (“Absentee In-Person”) begins October 12, 2021! Your early voting location, and dates, can be found here. And for those who choose to wait until election day, and would like to verify their designated polling location, you can check your voter registration on the Secretary of State’s My Voter Page. This is also where you can check to see if your absentee ballot has been received. Please keep in mind postal delays and extraneous issues that may arise.

 

All ballots are due before 7:00 PM on election day, November, 2nd.  

 

All elections matter!  

“If your vote didn’t matter, they wouldn’t be trying so hard to keep you from voting.”- Common

 

Taylor Brown

Georiga Equality: Ending the Epidemic Fellow