In-Person Early Voting Begins In Georgia

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More than 200 voters wait in line at the C.T. Martin Natatorium in Fulton County before polls open for early voting.

Credit: David Armstrong | Georgia News Lab

Monday marks the start of in-person early voting in Georgia, a battleground state that is closely watched for both its electoral outcome as well as how its elections are run.

Hundreds of voters snaked through parking lots of government buildings and other locations as they waited to cast their ballots before Election Day. At the C.T. Martin Natatorium in southwest Atlanta, more than 200 were waiting before the 8:00 start time. Similar scenes have been reported in Cobb, DeKalb, Hall, Richmond and other counties across Georgia. 

Georgia law requires three weeks of early voting, including one Saturday option, but the hours and locations will vary. All 159 counties have at least one early voting location, and several larger metropolitan counties have more than one. Early voting runs from Oct. 12-30, and any registered voter in each county can vote at any of the open locations in that county.

Fulton County, home to 11% of the state's voters, has 30 locations open every day between now and Oct. 30 as part of a push to have 80% of its votes cast before Election Day, including 300 machines at State Farm Arena.

Check with your county elections office, the state My Voter Page and the secretary of state's office for the exact dates and times for early voting.

Officials are bracing for record-setting turnout in the November general election, with more than 1.6 million Georgians requesting an absentee-by-mail ballot so far and more than 430,000 of those ballots already returned.

Voters who have requested an absentee ballot but wish to vote in-person should anticipate extra time when they show up, as poll workers must cancel that absentee ballot before issuing you a voter access card to cast your ballot on the new $107-million touchscreen voting machines.

The deadline to request an absentee ballot is Oct. 30, but election officials and the Post Office recommend requesting and returning it as soon as possible to allow time. Ballots can be requested online, by mail, fax, email or in person to your county elections office. Ballots can be returned through the mail, in person to your county election office or into a secure 24/7 drop box that many counties have set up. 

You must return your absentee ballot by 7 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 3, for it to count. A federal appeals court recently overturned a ruling that would have allowed more time for ballots to be returned because of the coronavirus.

A federal judge also Sunday issued an order denying a request to switch Georgia to hand-marked paper ballots, citing concerns with the state's election system but also the timing in her ruling.

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