Voting in Georgia

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The policies governing voter participation are enacted and enforced primarily at the state level. These policies, which include voter identification requirements, early voting provisions, online voter registration systems, and more, dictate the conditions under which people cast their ballots in their respective states.

This article includes the following information about voting policies in Georgia:

See Election administration in Georgia for more additional information about election administration in the state, including voter list maintenance policies, provisional ballot rules, and post-election auditing practices.

Do you have questions about your elections? Looking for information about your local election official? Click here to use U.S. Vote Foundation’s election official lookup tool.

Voter registration

Eligibility and registration details

Check your voter registration status here.

To vote in Georgia, one must be a citizen of the United States and a legal resident of his or her county. The voter must be at least 17.5 years of age at the time of registration and 18 at the time of the election.[1]

Registration must be completed at least 28 days prior to the election. Registration can be completed online, in person, or by mail.[1]

In-person voting

Poll times

See also: State poll opening and closing times

In Georgia, polls are open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. Eastern Time. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote.[2]

Voter identification

See also: Voter identification laws by state

Georgia requires voters to present photo identification while voting in person or by mail/absentee.[3]

The following list of accepted ID was current as of April 2023. Click here for the Georgia Secretary of State's page on accepted ID to ensure you have the most current information.

“
  • Any valid state or federal government-issued photo ID, including a free ID card issued by your county registrar's office or the Georgia Department of Driver Services.
  • A Georgia driver's license, even if expired
  • Student ID from a Georgia public College or University[4]
  • 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 containing a photograph of the voter
  • Valid tribal photo ID containing a photograph of the voter

[3][5]

”

Voters can obtain a free voter ID card from any county registrar's office or Department of Driver Services Office. Click here for more information on obtaining a free voter ID card in Georgia.

Early voting

See also: Early voting

Georgia permits early voting. Learn more by visiting this website.

Absentee/mail-in voting

See also: Absentee/mail-in voting

All voters are eligible to vote absentee in Georgia. There are no special eligibility requirements for voting absentee. The ballot application deadline is 11 days before Election Day. A completed ballot must be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day.[6][7]


Local election officials

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Do you need information about elections in your area? Are you looking for your local election official? Click here to visit the U.S. Vote Foundation and use their election official lookup tool.

Voting rules for people convicted of a felony

See also: Voting rights for convicted felons

In Georgia, people convicted of a felony are unable to vote until the completion of their sentence, including prison, probation and parole. Voting rights are automatically restored once the sentence is completed.[8]

Voting rights for people convicted of a felony vary from state to state. In the majority of states, people convicted of a felony cannot vote while they are incarcerated but may regain the right to vote upon release from prison or at some point thereafter.[9]

Election agencies

Seal of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission
See also: State election agencies

Individuals seeking additional information about voting provisions in Georgia can contact the following state and federal agencies.

Georgia Secretary of State Elections Division

214 State Capitol
Atlanta, Georgia 30334
Telephone: 404-656-2871
Fax: 404-651-9531
http://sos.georgia.gov/elections

U.S. Election Assistance Commission

633 3rd Street NW, Suite 200
Washington, DC 20001
Telephone: 301-563-3919
Toll free: 1-866-747-1471

Noteworthy events

2021

Federal appeals court rejects claim that postage for absentee/mail-in ballots amounts to a poll tax

On August 27, 2021, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit unanimously affirmed a lower court's decision finding that a Georgia law requiring voters to pay the price of postage for returning absentee/mail-in ballots does not constitute an illegal poll tax. The plaintiffs had argued that requiring absentee/mail-in voters to pay the price of postage amounted to levying a poll tax, violating the Fourteenth and Twenty-Fourth Amendments to the United States Constitution. The defendants (state and local election officials) moved to dismiss. A U.S. District Court granted the motion to dismiss, citing "[t]he fact that any registered voter may vote in Georgia on election day without purchasing a stamp, and without undertaking any 'extra steps' besides showing up at the voting precinct and complying with generally applicable election regulations." The plaintiffs then appealed to the Eleventh Circuit.[10]

The Eleventh Circuit panel—comprising Judges Elizabeth Branch (a Donald Trump (R) appointee), Britt Grant (another Trump appointee), and Edward Carnes (a George H.W. Bush (R) appointee)—unanimously affirmed the lower court's ruling. Branch, writing for the court, said, "While voting often involves incidental costs like transportation, parking, child care, taking time off work, and—for those who choose to vote absentee by mail—the cost of a postage stamp, those incidental costs do not mean that Georgia has imposed an unconstitutional poll tax or fee on its voters."[10]

In response to the ruling, Sean Young, legal director for the Georgia affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union (which was involved in the suit on behalf of the plaintiffs), said, "We are disappointed in the outcome. The ACLU of Georgia will continue to protect the sacred fundamental right to vote." Regarding the possibility of an appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States, Young said, "All legal options remain on the table."[11]

Georgia enacts SB202, making several changes to the state's election administration procedures

On March 25, 2021, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp (R) signed SB202 into law, enacting a series of changes to the state's election administration procedures, including (but not limited to) the following:[7]

  • Absentee/mail-in voting:
    • Absentee/mail-in ballots verified on the basis of driver's license numbers instead of voter signatures (the last four digits of a Social Security number, and a date of birth, permissible in lieu of a driver's license number).
    • Ballot drop boxes made available only inside early voting locations during business hours.
    • Ballot application deadline fixed at 11 days before Election Day.
  • Early voting:
    • For general elections, counties required to offer early voting on two Saturdays; counties authorized, but not required, to offer early voting on two Sundays.
    • For runoff elections, early voting period limited to a minimum of one week.
  • Other election administration matters:
    • State Election Board authorized to remove county election boards and replace them with interim election managers.
    • Counties required to certify election results within six days instead of 10.
    • Prohibited the use of "photographic or other electronic monitoring or recording devices ... to photograph or record a voted ballot."

The full text of the enacted bill can be accessed here.

In its original form, SB202 would have barred persons and entities from sending unsolicited absentee/mail-in ballot applications to voters who had already requested, been issued, or voted an absentee/mail-in ballot. On March 25, 2021, the Georgia House of Representatives approved an amended version of the bill (which included the aforementioned changes) by a vote of 74. Later that day, the Georgia State Senate concurred in the House amendments by a vote of 34-20. Both the House and Senate votes split along party lines, with Republicans voting in favor of the bill and Democrats voting against it.[7][12]

Upon signing the bill into law, Kemp said, "After the November election last year, I knew like so many of you that significant reforms to our state elections were needed. When voting in person in the state of Georgia, you must have a photo ID. It only makes sense for the same standard to apply to absentee ballots as well."[13]

2018

On October 25, 2018, Judge Leigh Martin May, of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, ordered election officials to stop rejecting absentee ballots and applications due to signature mismatches without first reaching out to voters to give them an opportunity to prove their identities. Under Georgia state law, a voter's absentee ballot or application whose signature does not match that on the voter's registration card must be rejected. May ruled that this requirement violated the due process rights of absentee voters and ordered that absentee ballots and applications with apparent signature mismatches be treated as provisional ballots pending determination of their validity. Secretary of State Brian Kemp (R) requested that May stay the order pending appeal. His attorneys wrote, "Last-minute challenges to longstanding election procedures have long been disfavored because they threaten to disrupt the orderly administration of elections, which is essential to the functioning of our participatory democracy." Andrea Young, executive director of ACLU Georgia, which is a party to one of the lawsuits giving rise to May's order, said, "We are disappointed that the Secretary of State is unwilling to grant due process to Georgia citizens who vote by absentee ballot." On November 2, 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit denied Kemp's request for a stay of May's order.[14]

On November 2, 2018, Judge Eleanor Ross, of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, ordered that individuals whose voter registrations were flagged by election officials and placed on pending status due to questions over citizenship be allowed to cast regular ballots if, prior to voting, they provided election officials with proof of identity and citizenship.

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See also

Elections in Georgia


External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Georgia Secretary of State, "How-to-Guide: Registering to Vote," accessed April 12, 2023
  2. ↑ State of Georgia, "Vote in Person on Election Day," accessed April 12, 2023
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Georgia Secretary of State, "Georgia Voter Identification Requirements," accessed April 23, 2023
  4. ↑ This includes colleges, universities, and technical colleges.
  5. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  6. ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Voting Information," accessed December 18, 2013
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Georgia General Assembly, "SB 202," accessed March 26, 2021
  8. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Felon Voting Rights," April 6, 2023
  9. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Felon Voting Rights," April 6, 2023
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, "Black Voters Matter Fund v. Raffensperger: Opinion," August 27, 2021
  11. ↑ The Seattle Times, "Appeals court: Postage for absentee ballots isn’t a poll tax," August 27, 2021
  12. ↑ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Sweeping changes to Georgia elections signed into law," March 25, 2021
  13. ↑ WSB-TV 2, "Gov. Kemp signs controversial voting bill into law; lawmaker arrested protesting it," March 25, 2021
  14. ↑ News Channel 9, "Federal judge tweaks her order on Georgia absentee ballots," October 26, 2018
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