Labor Day marked the unofficial start of the November 3rd general election campaign for federal, state and local offices. Already the state has received more than 800,000 absentee ballot requests and the Secretary of State’s office last week launched a website for online absentee ballot requests, ballotrequest.sos.ga.gov.
Registrars in Georgia’s 159 counties can begin mailing out absentee ballots on September 15. As for other dates to remember, September 8 is the filing deadline for write-in candidates. October 5 is the registration deadline to be eligible to vote in the general election. In-person early voting begins October 12.
Interestingly, both parties and most candidates are emphasizing that, if you have fears of requesting an absentee ballot and then not getting your ballot sent back in the mail on time, go to vote early in-person. Many polling places are not crowded even with social distancing requirements and the lines shouldn’t be long during that early voting time period.
