ATLANTA — With record numbers of absentee voters for the November 3 election, many are concerned about the logistics and making sure their vote is counted.
11Alive's VERIFY team has received many questions from Georgia voters involving absentee and specifically if it's too late to cast your vote. We took those questions to the Georgia Secretary of State to get specifics on what you need to know.
The Question
Is it too late to vote absentee in Georgia?
The Answer
No, as long as you use a county drop box, it's not too late to make your vote count.
What We Found
According to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, nearly half a million voters who requested absentee ballots still haven't returned them.
To those voters, Raffensperger said do NOT put them in the mailbox. That's because, with so little time left, there's no guarantee your vote will make it in time to be counted if it's sent via the postal service.
He said to use an absentee ballot drop box in your county.
"If you have a smaller county and you don't have that, you just take it up to your county registrar, your county election official and they will take it from you there," Raffensperger said.
RELATED: Fulton County director believes they'll have absentee ballots counted early on Election Day
In Fulton County alone, there are 37 drop boxes.
As long as you drop your ballot in one of those boxes before the time polls close at 7 p.m. Tuesday, your vote will still be counted.
If you're concerned about leaving the house due to the pandemic, or you're physically unable to, the Secretary of State said it's legal for a spouse or caretaker to take your absentee ballot to a drop-off location.
If you already sent in your absentee ballot, you can track it on the website Ballottrax.
If you requested an absentee ballot but never received it, Raffensperger said you can go to your polling location on election day and cancel your absentee in order to vote in person.
So we can verify – NO, it's not too late for absentee voters to make their ballots count in this election.