ATLANTA — Just a few short weeks from now, voters will be at the polls selecting a new president and other lawmakers for local, state and federal offices.
Across the state, voters have been seeing an onslaught of commercials, mail, and telephone calls from candidates and supporters across the board.
Early voting is already underway for the September 29 special election to fill the remainder of the late John Lewis' term in Georgia's 5th Congressional District. That term ends January 3, 2021.
The 5th Congressional District includes most of the city of Atlanta and portions of Fulton, DeKalb and Clayton counties.
Only voters in that congressional district may participate in that special election.
In addition, absentee voting for the November General Election has started. County registrars have started mailing out ballots to voters who had previously requested them.
While all of Georgia's 159 counties do not have absentee ballot drop boxes, the boxes in all of the counties where the boxes are present are now open and available for use by voters.
Voters may continue to request absentee ballots by visiting the Georgia Secretary of State's absentee ballot online portal and following the instructions.
For voters inside the United States, all absentee ballots must arrive at your county's election office by the closing of the polls on Election Day. For 2020, this will be Tuesday, November 3. Military and overseas voters who post their ballots on Election Day have an additional three days.to ensure they arrive.
Here are the important upcoming dates on Georgia's Election Calendar:
September 29, 2020 - Official Special Election date for voters in the 5th Congressional District to elect the congressional representative fill the remainder of John Lewis' term.
If there is not a winner declared in this special election, a runoff between the top two candidates on December 1 to fill the final month of Lewis' term.
September 29, 2020 - First Presidential Debate, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio
October 5, 2020 - Last day a person may register to vote in Georgia and be eligible to participate in the November General Election and Runoff.
October 7, 2020 - Vice-presidential debate, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
October 12, 2020 - Early in-person voting begins across Georgia for the November General Election.
October 12, 2020 - Debates for 5th, 9th and 14th Congressional Districts, Livestream and GPB-TV
October 12, 2020 - Debate for US Senate (Perdue incumbent seat), Livestream and GPB-TV
October 13, 2020 - Debates for Georgia Public Service Commission, District 1/Southern and District 4/Northern, Livestream Only
October 13, 2020 - Debates for 6th and 7th Congressional Districts, Livestream and GPB-TV
October 15, 2020 - Second presidential debate, Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, Miami, Fla.
October 19, 2020 - Debates for US Senate (Loeffler incumbent seat), Livestream and GPB-TV
October 22, 2020 - Third Presidential Debate, Belmont University, Nashville, Tenn.
October 24, 2020 - Mandatory Saturday Voting for the November General Election and Special Election.
Tuesday, November 3, 2020 - Election Day
December 1, 2020 - General Election and Special Election runoff date for LOCAL and STATE offices only.
If there is not a winner declared in the September 29 Special Election to fill the remainder of John Lewis' term for the 5th Congressional District, the runoff for that seat would also be held on December 1.
January 3, 2021 - Term of the 116th Congress ends, 117th Congress begins.
January 5, 2021 - General Election Runoff for FEDERAL offices. If there is not a winner declared in the US Senate election for the seat currently held by Kelly Loeffler, the run-off election will take place on this date.
January 20, 2021 - Inauguration of the President of the United States
Additional details and dates will be added to this page as they become available.