ATLANTA — Today is the last day for Georgians to cast an early vote in the state's primary elections.
Primary Day is set for Tuesday, May 24. The early voting period ends today on Friday, May 20.
If you requested an absentee ballot and haven't yet submitted it, keep in mind you can only turn it in at a drop box by 6 p.m. Under new Georgia election laws, drop boxes are only available inside early voting locations during early voting hours.
If you requested an absentee ballot but lost it or never received it, or have changed your mind and want to vote in person on Primary Day, you can still do that.
If you still have your absentee ballot and just want to vote in person, it's a simple process - take it with you to your polling location on Tuesday and give it to the poll worker. They'll cancel it for you, and then you can proceed to vote in person.
If you lost your absentee ballot or never got it, you will have to tell poll workers and they'll have to go through a bit of a confirmation process to cancel your absentee ballot. The Georgia Voter Guide explains:
Let the poll worker know that you lost or never received your absentee ballot. The poll worker will need to contact the county to have your ballot cancelled. You will also have to sign an affidavit attesting to the fact that you lost or never received your ballot. This can take a little time and the poll worker may need to ask the Poll Manager for assistance, so be prepared. Once your absentee ballot has been cancelled, you should be able to proceed to vote on the voting machines.
There has been robust turnout so far in the Peach State ahead of important primary elections that will determine who appears on the November general election ballots - record turnout, in fact.
State elections official Gabriel Sterling reported Friday morning the early vote count had surpassed 20,000 votes.
Sec. of State Brad Raffensperger told 11Alive on Thursday the record turnout is "fantastic."
"What it shows is that it’s never been easier to vote in Georgia, but we have the appropriate guardrails, securities in place," he said. "When you have strong security that elevates people’s confidence in the process. So now, we have photo ID for all absentee voting. We have 17 days of early voting. Just Thursday and Friday left to go…but we’re already seeing numbers pushing 200 percent higher than what in 2020."