Important dates to remember for November election

(WJBF) – The November election is fast approaching and there are quite a few dates and places you should take note of leading up to it.

Registration deadlines:

Absentee ballot deadlines:

Request: October 30
Return by mail: Postmarked by November 3
Return in person: November 3 by 7:00 p.m.
- According to representatives with the Georgia Secretary of State’s department of Voter Education, while absentee ballots must be returned by 7 p.m. on Election Day, a recent court ruling says Georgia voters have up to three days if the absentee ballot is postmarked by election day, a decision that is currently under appeal. Voters are strongly urged to return their absentee ballots before the election date.
It is suggested that absentee ballots be requested three weeks before the election and returned at least a week before the election.

Early voting:

The Georgia Secretary of State’s office also answered a number of questions regarding the November 3rd election.

How many people are expected to vote in person vs. absentee? 5 million total; 2.5 on Election Day, 2.5 split between absentee and early voting
What is being done in Georgia to make sure there is no ‘double voting’? Georgia law makes it a felony.
How are voters being kept safe given the pandemic (will there be less voting booths)? The state has provided counties 84,000 masks, 290,000 gloves, 28,000 bottles of hand sanitizer and 60,000 stylus pens. It is recommending social distancing, frequent sanitizing of equipment and the polling place and masks by poll workers and voters.
How are people being trained and how many poll workers do we have? Working with 50 organizations such as the Georgia Chamber and the King Center, they’ve recruited more than 27,000 people for counties to consider hiring as poll workers.

And finally…where do you register to vote?

Download, complete and mail a voter registration application
You can go to your local county board of registrars’ office or election office, public library, public assistance office, recruitment office, schools and other government offices for a mail-in registration form
Registration is offered when you renew or apply for your driver’s license at Department of Driver Services
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

For more information on Voter Registration and Elections, visit the Secretary of State’s Office by clicking HERE.

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