Voting in
Georgia

Upcoming Election Dates & Deadlines

Upcoming Election: Primary Election

Election Day: November 5, 2024

Registration Deadline: October 7, 2024

Vote By Mail: yes

Vote By Mail Deadline: October 7, 2024

Early Voting: October 14 - 1, 2024

How to vote in Georgia

Georgia's election schedule

Georgia's Election Overview

In Georgia, you can register to vote online, by mail, or in person. Voting can be done in person or by absentee ballot. Be sure to bring a photo ID when voting in person.

Important Voting Links for Georgia

How to vote in Georgia

Absentee Ballot Process

Request your ballot here. Absentee voting is available and no excuse is required. You can return your absentee ballot request form through the mail or in person. Voted ballots must be received by Election Day in order to be counted. You can sign up to track your absentee ballot on your Secretary of State website. REQUESTING AND RETURNING YOUR ABSENTEE BALLOT: You do not need to provide a reason to request an absentee ballot by mail. You may request an absentee ballot as early as 11 weeks (78 days) before an election. Absentee ballot requests must be returned two Fridays before Election Day. Counties will begin mailing out absentee ballots starting 29 days before the election. Voted absentee ballots must be received by the county board of registrars by 7:00 p.m. on Election Day. You may also request, fill out, and return an absentee ballot form online here. The application must contain:

your mailing address
the election in which you wish to vote
An acceptable form of identification: either your driver’s license number, state ID number, the last four digits of your social security number, or, if you don’t have those, a copy of your voter ID.

RETURNING YOUR VOTED ABSENTEE BALLOT: Once you fill out your choices by filling in the circles for your choices, you will place it in an envelope that will have your name, signature, driver’s license or state ID number (or last four digits of your Social Security number) and date of birth. Sensitive personal information will be hidden once it is sealed Absentee ballots will be checked using the ID information you write on the outside envelope instead of your signature. Voted absentee ballots may be returned by mail, in person, or at a secure drop box location. VOTING IN PERSON AFTER REQUESTING AN ABSENTEE BALLOT: Those who requested an absentee ballot but end up voting in person: If the mailed ballot has been voted and returned to and received by the board of registrars, then the absentee ballot shall be deemed to have been voted. No other ballot shall be issued. If you still have the absentee ballot and give it to the poll manager of the precinct in which your name appears on the electors list, then you may vote a regular ballot. If you have not received an absentee ballot, or if you have returned the absentee ballot, but the registrars have not received the ballot, you may cancel the absentee ballot by appearing in person before the registrar or absentee ballot clerk and making a written request to have the ballot marked “cancelled.” If you are physically disabled or living temporarily outside your county of residence, a close relative may apply for an absentee ballot for you. Overseas citizens and U.S. military personnel can find information on how to register to vote and request an absentee ballot at the Overseas Vote Foundation.

Early Voting

Early voting access has recently been modified for most counties, adding an additional mandatory Saturday and formally classifying Sunday voting hours as optional. Counties can have early voting open as long as 7 a.m. to 7 pm or 9 am to 5 pm at a minimum. Find available early voting locations by visiting the Secretary of State’s website and selecting your county of residence from the list. You can also find available sites by logging into your My Voter Page and looking at your polling place information. Note: A recent change prohibits a mobile poll or early voting bus except during an emergency declared by the governor.

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible to vote you must be:

A citizen of the United States
A legal resident of Georgia and of the county in which you wish to vote
At least 17.5 years old to register, and 18 years old to vote
Not serving any sentence imposed by the conviction of a felony involving moral turpitude
Not judicially determined to be mentally incompetent

ID Needed for Voter Registration

If you have a Georgia Drivers License number or ID card issued by the GA Department of Driver Services with a signature on file with DDS, you can register to vote online! If you are a first time voter, and returning the registration form by mail, you must submit one form of ID below unless you provide your Georgia’s driver’s license/ID number (or the last 4 digits of your social security number if you do not have a driver’s license/ID number) on the form and your ID is verified with a state database, or you are entitled to vote by absentee ballot under the Uniform and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting act. Acceptable items of ID are:

Valid Georgia driver’s license
Copy of a current and valid ID
Copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows your name and address

You can register by mailing a copy of your identification with your voter registration application; providing a copy of your identification to the registrar during the absentee voting process; or by showing one of the pieces of acceptable identification when voting at your polling place.

ID Needed for Voting

ID is required to vote at the polls. Acceptable forms of ID include:

A Georgia driver’s license, even if expired
A photo ID issued by a state or federal government agency
A valid U.S. passport
An employee ID card containing your photograph and issued by any branch, department, agency, or entity of the U.S. government, Georgia, or any county, municipality, board, authority, or other entity of Georgia
A valid U.S. military ID card
A valid tribal ID card.

If you do not have one of the above forms of ID, the State of Georgia offers a free Voter Identification Card. For more information on the acceptable forms of photo ID and the free Voter Identification Card, please visit your state’s resource. Voters can call or text 844-338-8743 at any time to reach VoteRiders Voter ID Helpline

Overseas and Military Voting

You are a Military or Overseas voter if you are in uniformed services, living overseas OR a spouse or dependent of a uniformed services voter. To get registered and vote, you can utilize Overseas Vote Foundation. If you have additional questions about elections and voting overseas you can use our state specific elections official directory or contact the Overseas Vote Foundation.

Primary Election Process

Georgia is an “open primary” state. You can choose the party’s ballot you wish to vote. This decision does not register you with that party and it is a private decision. In a primary election if a candidate does not with the majority of the votes (50%+1) there will be a primary runoff election scheduled for a few weeks after the primary election date. The runoff election will have the top two vote getters to ensure that one of them receives the majority of the voters. If you have any questions about your state’s primary election, please contact your local election officials.

Provisional Voting

Provisional voting allows you to cast a ballot in person even if the requirements for doing so cannot be met at the time. The provisional ballot will count if the problem is solved within three days after Election Day. NOTE: Due to a recent change, out-of-precinct provisional ballots will not count anymore unless cast after 5 p.m. and a voter signs a statement saying they could not make it to their home precinct in time. The three reasons for voting a provisional ballot are:

You are unable to show the required forms of photo ID when you vote in person
When you first registered to vote in Georgia you registered by mail, did not provide any identification at the time and are unable to present acceptable identification the first time you vote in person
Your name does not appear on the list of registered voters in the precinct
If you have a good faith belief you are properly registered in your county

If you vote a provisional ballot because you did not have acceptable identification, you will have three days from the close of the polls to present acceptable identification to your county registrar office for your vote to count. You can track the status of your provisional ballot here.

Provisions for Voters with Disabilities

You may receive assistance at the polls if you are unable to read the English language or if you have a physical disability that renders you unable to see or mark the ballot, operate the voting equipment, or enter the voting booth. In order to receive assistance, everyone, except those that are blind, must take an oath stating the reason they need assistance. The person providing assistance to you must sign on the oath. When there is a federal candidate on the ballot, you can select anyone you want to assist you in voting, except for your employer, an agent of that employer, or an officer or agent of your union. When there is no federal candidate on the ballot, you can select any other resident of the precinct or a parent, sibling, spouse or child (provided they are not a candidate on the ballot or a relative of a candidate on the ballot) to assist you inside the voting booth. No person may assist more than ten voters in a primary, election, or runoff. Note: Between the hours of 9:30 am and 4:30 pm on the day of an election, voters who are 75 years of age or older or who are physically disabled may, upon request to a poll officer, vote immediately without waiting in line. Adaptive Voting Machines are available that voters can use to navigate through the ballot and make their selections— a hand-held controller called the Audio Tactile Interface (ATI), sip and puff device, or paddle device. For more information, you can utilize the American Association of People With Disabilities (AAPD) resource or your state’s resource.

Voting Machines

The voting system used in Georgia is DRE. Direct Recording Electronic (DRE): This is the newest kind of system in use in the U.S. All the information about who and what you are voting for is on an electronic screen like a TV or computer screen. There are many variations of DREs because lots of companies are inventing new ones, and many cities, counties and states are trying them out. Usually, after you have signed in, the poll workers will give you a card that you slide into a device to start your voting session. Some of these devices will show all of the candidates and ballot choices on one big screen. Often, with these big screen devices you push a button next to the name of the candidate you want to vote for (or yes or no on a ballot measure). On other DREs, the screen is set up to show pages. On each screen or page, there will probably be one thing to vote on. For example, on one screen or page, you might vote for president. Then you might move to the next page to vote for senator. Often these small-screen devices have a touch screen, where you touch the screen next to the name of the person you want to vote for. Other devices have a key pad. Some have a keyboard, so you can write in the name of someone you want to vote for. You let the system know you are finished voting by pushing a button, touching the screen or entering something on a keypad. You can learn more about voting systems by checking out the Elections Assistance Commission’s (EAC) resource.