Voter Registration - ID Requirement - Acceptable Forms of ID - Early Voting - Absentee Voting - Provisional Voting - Sample Ballots - Type of Primary

State Contact Information
Secretary of State
Elections Division
2 Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. SE
Suite 1104, West Tower
Atlanta, Georgia 30334-1505

Phone: (404) 656-2871
Fax: (404) 651-9531

Email: click here to email
Web: http://www.sos.ga.gov/Elections/

Voter Registration

Georgia citizens have access to several convenient methods of registering to vote:

• Download and complete a voter registration application.
• Contact your local county board of registrars' office (or visit: http://sos.georgia.gov/elections/elections/voter_information/2000_voter_info.asp) or election office, public library, public assistance office, recruitment office, schools and other government offices for a mail-in registration form.
• E-mail your request for a voter registration form to us,
• Registration is offered when you renew or apply for your driver's license at Department of Motor Vehicle Safety driver's license posts.
• College students can obtain Georgia voter registration forms, or the necessary forms to register in any state in the U.S., from their school registrar's office or from the office of the Vice President of Academic Affairs.

Change of Residence
Voters are required to notify the board of registrars of their county of residence whenever they move.

• If you move within the same county in which you are registered to vote and don't notify the registrar at least 30 days prior to an election, you may vote in your old polling place for that election. You must file a notice of your new address. This can be done by writing your county board of registrars' office, or by submitting a new voter registration application.
• If you move outside the county in which you are registered to vote within 30 days of an election, you may vote in your old precinct for that election.
• If you move outside the county in which you are registered to vote in excess of 30 days prior to an election, you have lost your eligibility to vote in the county of your old residence. You must register to vote in your new county of residence. If you don't register to vote by the deadline, you cannot vote in that particular election.

After Registering to Vote
If you have misplaced or have not received your precinct card within two to three weeks of submitting your application, please contact your county board of registrars' office to request a new precinct card or to check the status of your application.

ID Requirement

Every qualified registered voter is required to provide photo identification when voting in person.

Acceptable Forms of ID

• Any valid state or federal government issued photo ID, including a FREE Voter ID Card issued by your county registrar's office or the Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS)
• A Georgia Driver's License, even if expired
• Valid employee photo ID from any branch, department, agency, or entity of the U.S. Government, Georgia, or any county, municipality, board, authority or other entity of this state
• Valid U.S. passport ID
• Valid U.S. military photo ID
• Valid tribal photo ID

If you do not have one of these forms of photo identification, a Georgia Voter Identification Card is available FREE of charge at your county registrar's office or any Department of Driver Services Office.

For further details about obtaining a Voter Identification Card, please contact your county registrar's office.

Early Voting

What is Early Voting?
All states have established some form of process for voters to be able to cast a ballot prior to Election Day. In many instances, however, the process is restricted to special circumstances. Some states require registered voters to present an acceptable reason that will prevent them from casting a ballot in-person, on Election Day. There are two ways a voter may cast an advance vote:

• In Georgia early voting in-person is called "Advance Voting" and it allows registered voters to cast a ballot in-person.

• Another form of early voting is casting a ballot by mail which is often referred to as absentee voting by mail.

Advance voting (open)
Any qualified registered voter may vote early in person on the Monday through Friday of the week before an election. With advance voting you may choose to vote in person before Election Day simply as a matter of convenience.

Advance voting locations will be announced by the State Elections Division. At the advance voting office, you must fill out an application and provide one of the permitted forms of identification. You will then be issued a ballot that must be filled out and cast while you are in the office.

Please note that you cannot vote on the day immediately preceding the Tuesday election. Traditional polling places will be open on Election Day. However, if you choose to advance vote you cannot cast another ballot at your precinct on Election Day.

Absentee Voting/Vote by Mail (open)
Who may request and absentee ballot: Any registered voter may request an absentee and is not required to provide a reason why he or she is voting absentee. A voter may vote by absentee ballot if he or she:

• will not be present in his/ her voting precinct on Election Day
• is 75 years of age or older
• is disabled or the full time caregiver of a disabled person
• will be observing a religious holiday that does not permit him to vote on Election Day
• is an election official, or will be on duty for the protection of life, health, or safety that day

How to request an absentee ballot: You may download the absentee ballot application at www.sos.state.ga.us/elections/elections/voter_information/absentee_ballot_app.pdf (PDF format). The application may be returned by mail or fax to the voter's local County Board of Registrar's Office, which will mail the absentee ballot to the voter. A list of such offices is available at, www.sos.state.ga.us/elections/elections/voter_information/2000_voter_info.asp.

Absentee ballots will not be issued the day before or the day of an election and must be received by the County Board of Registrar's Office by Election Day.

When to request an absentee ballot: You may request an absentee ballot as early as 180 days before an election. No absentee ballots are issued on the day before or the day of an election.

When to Return a Completed Absentee Ballot:
Absentee ballots must be received by the county board of registrars' office by 7:00 p.m. on Election Day.

You may download an application for official absentee/advance ballot and mail, fax or deliver in person to your county board of registrars' office. The application must be in writing and contain the address to which the ballot is to be mailed, sufficient information to identify you as a voter, and the election in which you wish to vote - no reason is required when requesting an absentee ballot by mail.

Applications for absentee ballots by uniformed or overseas voters (pursuant to the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act) can be accepted more than 180 days prior to a primary or election in which a federal candidate appears on the ballot as well as for any runoffs resulting therefrom including presidential preference primaries for two general elections.

May I receive assistance with my absentee ballot?
If you are physically disabled or living temporarily outside your county of residence, a close relative (mother, father, grandparent, aunt, uncle, sister, brother, spouse, son, daughter, niece, nephew, grandchild, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, mother-in-law, father-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law who is 18 or over) may apply for an absentee ballot for you. The absentee ballot shall be mailed to the voter.

A physically disabled or illiterate voter may receive assistance from another voter in the same county or municipality or from the same category of relatives who can make an application for or deliver an absentee ballot. If the voter is outside of the county or municipality, then a notary public can provide such assistance. Any person who assists another person to vote absentee must complete an oath prescribed by law demonstrating the statutory disability and that the ballot was completed as the voter desired. Other than federal elections, no person may assist more than ten voters in a primary, election, or runoff. A candidate on the ballot, or a relative of a candidate on the ballot, may not offer assistance during the election to any voter who is not related to the candidate.

*The signature of a witness is required only if the voter was assisted in filling out the absentee ballot.

Provisional Voting (in-precinct)

A "provisional ballot" can be considered a temporary ballot. Federal law provides for voters whose eligibility is in question to cast a ballot. A provisional ballot is not counted until voter eligibility can be determined by Election officials. Provisional voting was established nationwide by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). This means that no person who says they are registered to vote may be denied their right to vote.

Provisional ballots must be cast in the precinct where the voter is registered to vote in order to be counted.

A voter is allowed to cast a provisional ballot at the polls due to one of the following reasons:

1. The voter's name does not appear on the list of registered voters in that precinct.
2. A voter who registered for the first time by mail but did not provide the required identification in their application and is unable to provide the required identification the first time he/she votes in person.
3. The voter is unable to provide an acceptable form of photo identification when he or she votes in person.
4. The voter is voting during extended polling hours as a result of a court order in an election in which federal candidates are on the ballot.

*Please note that the provisional vote will be counted if the voter presents identification within 2 days after the election.

Sample Ballots

Sample ballots are available through your county or municipal election superintendent's office prior to the election and are usually printed in the local newspaper. In addition, sample ballots will be posted at your polling place on Election Day.

Type of Primary (open)

Georgia is an open primary state. Voters do not have to register by political party to vote in the state's regular primaries or general elections.