ATLANTA — The Georgia Secretary of State is urging all voters to send in their ballots by mail.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger sent absentee ballot requests to all 6.9 million active Georgia voters -- and more than 500,000 have been sent in.
Since most poll workers fall in the high COVID-19 risk category, absentee ballots are the safer, healthier option to cast a vote.
Raffensperger also says anyone who requested an absentee ballot should stick with it.
Anyone who changes their mind and goes to the polls in person must bring in their absentee ballot so that it can be canceled at the voting site. This extra step slows down the overall process.
Raffensperger said that each absentee ballot has a bar code that lets the state track it through the postal service to make sure it gets where it needs to go.
Counties can also apply for a grant to cover the cost of a ballot dropbox for those who prefer not to send their ballots in the mail.
If you do go to the polls, expect to see lots of hand sanitizer, longer wait times, and long lines. Social distancing limits the number of machines and also impacts the number of people that can work at each site. Not to mention, the extra time needed to sanitize between each voter.