ATLANTA —
Early voting will begin on Oct. 12 ahead of this year's general election.
Although Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has already said that his office has experienced a significantly higher level of registration for absentee ballots for this year's election, there is still a major interest in early voting for this election cycle.
In Georgia, early voting provides access on Monday through Saturday in many locations through Oct. 30. Hours vary from county to county.
Early voting locations are open to residents of the entire county in which they reside regardless of where in the county they live.
We have full details below regarding what voters need to have in order to vote early in the county in which they live:
List of advance voting locations and times for metro Atlanta counties
- Fulton County (select Fulton County from the drop-down list, and scroll down)
- DeKalb County (Information will be available after Sept. 29 special election)
- Gwinnett County
- Clayton County (select Clayton County from the drop-down list, and scroll down)
- Cobb County
- Coweta County
- Douglas County
- Fayette County (select Fayette County from the drop-down list)
- Henry County
- Barrow County
- Bartow County
- Butts County
- Carroll County
- Cherokee County
- Dawson County
- Forsyth County
- Hall County
- Haralson County
- Heard County
- Jasper County (select Jasper County from the drop-down list)
- Lamar County
- Meriwether County
- Morgan County
- Newton County
- Paulding County (select Paulding County from the drop-down list)
- Pickens County (select Pickens County from the drop-down list)
- Pike County (select Pike County from the drop-down list)
- Rockdale County
- Spalding County (select Spalding County from the drop-down list)
- Walton County
The Secretary of State's office provides information regarding voter information status, current precinct information and a full sample ballot for each registered voter in the state on the office's My Voter Page.
On that page, a visitor can enter their first initial, last name, county of residence and date of birth and find out their voter registration status, which precinct they are registered to vote in, along with that address - complete with directions, absentee ballot information and a link to elected officials that represent them.
Absentee voting information is presented on that page also. All absentee ballots must be received by the voter's county no later than 7 p.m. on Election Day.
In addition, there are links to change voter information in the event a voter has moved or needs to make some other change. A sample ballot is presented for the upcoming election so that the voter can see who is running ahead of time and get an idea of any ballot initiatives, referendum questions or proposed constitutional amendments present on the ticket.
What you will need when you go vote
When a voter comes to a polling place -- whether for advance voting or on Election Day -- they need to present one of several forms of government-issued identification:
- Any valid state or federal issued photo ID -- including a free ID card issued by your county registrar's office or the Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS).
- A Georgia Driver's License -- even if it's expired.
- Valid employee photo ID from any branch, department agency or entity of the US Government, state of Georgia or any county, municipality, board, authority or any other entity of the state.
- Valid US passport ID.
- Valid US military photo ID.
- Valid tribal photo ID.
If you don't have a photo ID, here's how to get a free state of Georgia photo ID
If someone doesn't have one of these six acceptable forms of photo ID, Georgia offers a free ID card that can be issued at any county registrar's office or local Department of Driver's Services office, free of charge. To receive a free voter ID card, a voter must provide:
- A photo identity document or approved non-photo identity document that includes full legal name and date of birth.
- Documentation showing the voter's date of birth.
- Evidence that the applicant is a registered voter in the state of Georgia.
- Documentation showing the applicant's name and residential address.
An individual is not, however, required to provide identification when voting absentee via US Mail or using a dropbox.
If you have any questions, please call the Secretary of State's Elections Division at 404-656-2871 weekdays from 8 a.m to 5:30 p.m.
How to cancel an absentee ballot
Voters are reminded that if they are registered to vote absentee, they are not permitted to vote a second time in person.
Double-voting is illegal, and at a September 8 news conference, Raffensperger said anyone who attempts to do so will be prosecuted.
Georgia's Guide for Absentee Voters details how a voter can turn in an unused ballot in order to vote in person at their assigned precinct, or if they have mailed in an absentee ballot but their elections office has not received it.
In that instance, they are permitted to cancel the absentee ballot, by making a written request to have the ballot marked "canceled."
At that point, the voter may be permitted to vote in person.
Here are helpful links for Georgia Voters:
Register to vote online: sos.ga.gov/elections
Request an absentee ballot online: https://securevotega.com/secureabsentee/
Change voter registration address: sos.ga.gov/elections
Check registration status: www.mvp.sos.ga.gov/MVP/mvp.do
Election offices by county: http://sos.ga.gov/cgi-bin/countyregistrarsindex.asp