How To Vote in Georgia

How to Vote in Georgia.png

By GLENN CHURCH’S RACIAL JUSTICE CAUCUS

If you have access to the internet, you can find a lot of information and get ready to vote online. Go to the Glenn website for a complete guide to voting. This guide is intended to help those who don’t have access to the internet.

First, decide when and how you are going to vote. To vote in the November 3 election, you must be a registered voter, and you can either

  1. Vote early at designated precincts October 12 through October 30 OR vote in person at your precinct on November 3 OR

  2. Vote by mail with an absentee ballot.

VOTE IN PERSON

EARLY VOTING starts October 12 and continues through October 30. For information about early voting locations, including dates and times when polls are open, call your county registrar (numbers for DeKalb County and Fulton County below).

ON NOVEMBER 3, you can vote at your home precinct from 7 am until 7 pm. You will probably vote at the same place where you usually vote, but some locations have changed because of COVID-19. For information about precinct changes, call your county registrar.         

IF YOU VOTE IN PERSON, take your photo ID and expect very long lines and wait times, as election workers will clean equipment frequently and ask you to maintain safe distances from other voters and poll workers. Do not wear clothes or hats with the names of candidates or parties or other political content or controversial language.

VOTE BY MAIL

You may have already received your ballot from your county registrar or an application for an absentee ballot from your county registrar or a voting rights group. If you have your ballot, skip down to the heading “How to Vote Your Absentee Ballot.”

How to Get Your Absentee Ballot

If you are planning to vote by mail and you have an application for an absentee ballot, you should fill it out and return it to your county registrar immediately (see below for addresses).

If you want to vote by mail and have not received either a ballot or an application for a ballot, you can request an application for a ballot from your county registrar in writing, providing the following information:

  • Your name

  • Date of birth

  • The address at which you are registered to vote

  • Temporary out of county address to which the ballot should be sent (if applicable)

  • Type of election (general)

  • Date of election (November 3)

  • Your signature, including the date of the request.

Mail your request to your county registrar (address below).

How to Vote Your Absentee Ballot

First, remove the perforated stub at the top of the ballot.

Next, mark the ballot with a blue or black pen (don’t use a felt tip pen or Sharpie), and color in the oval to the left of the name of the candidate you want to vote for. Fill the oval completely, and don’t make stray marks on the ballot. Ballots marked with an X or a checkmark run a very high risk of being rejected.

Once the ink is dry on your marked ballot, fold it and place it in the white envelope and seal it.

Now place the white envelope (with ballot inside) inside the second, yellow and white, pre-addressed envelope, and seal that envelope.

On the envelope flap, sign the “Oath of Elector” (that’s you) on the line labeled “Sign Here.” Sign your name as you usually do; elections officials will compare it to your signature on file to confirm that you are the person voting. Then print your name on the line below and to the left of the signature line that says “Printed Name of Elector.” If someone helped you mark your ballot, that person must date, sign, print name, and check the reason for assistance in the lower left-hand corner of the back of the envelope.

Now you are ready to deliver your ballot to your county registrar. The registrar must receive it by 7 pm on November 3. If you mail your ballot, affix two first class stamps to it and mail it at least two weeks before election day.

You can also deliver your ballot directly to your county registrar’s office or to one of the many secure dropboxes in your county. Call your county election officials to find the dropbox nearest to you.

QUESTIONS ABOUT VOTING

Your county registrar or the Georgia Voting Hotline (number below) can answer your voting questions.

DEKALB COUNTY BOARD OF REGISTRARS     
(404) 298-4020    
4380 Memorial Drive       
Decatur, GA 30032-1239        
                    

FULTON COUNTY REGISTRATION & ELECTIONS                         
(404) 612-7020
Absentee Ballot Division               
130 Peachtree St SW, Suite 218
Atlanta, GA 30303

Georgia Voter Hotline 888-730-5816