RegisteringYou must register to vote at your current address one month before the election.
There are registration forms available at the library. Volunteers often have voter registration forms at community events. You can also print one from your computer. Fill out the registration form, fold and mail.
If you are submitting a voter registration form by mail and you are registering for the first time in Georgia, attach a copy of one of the following items with your application: a copy of a current and valid photo ID or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows your name and address. The newest registration forms have a pocket to hold the copy of ID - read the instructions on the form as to trimming and not folding the copy.
To change your address, use a regular voter registration and indicate in the space provided that you are changing your address.
You should receive your voter precinct card in a few weeks. If you do not receive it, contact your local voter registration office or call the Secretary of State, Elections Division office at (404) 656-2871. Primary???Georgia has open primaries to determine which candidate will represent the party in the general election: you do not register with any party affiliation. When you vote in a primary election, you may choose to vote either in the Democratic Party or Republican Party Primary. Some primary elections will also have the choice of a non-partisan ballot to vote only on referendums, judges, or other non-partisan races. Finding your polling placeYour polling place may be a school, church or other building. It is listed on your voter precinct card. There is also an on line poll locator on line at http://www.sos.state.ga.us/cgi-bin/locator.asp
Much of East Atlanta votes at:
Hugh Otis Burgess Elementary School
480 Clifton ST, SE
Atlanta, GA 30316 (link to Map)
Don't assume this is your polling place - verify your polling place. In some cases, municipal elections use different polling places, so double-check. Go VoteThere are many organizations that provide transportation to the polls. Check in the newspaper, community organizations or even a candidate's campaign office for more information.
You may want to ask your neighbors what the expected wait will be. Most polling stations have less than a thirty minute wait, but count on at least 15 minutes to an hour. Turnout at primary elections is lighter than at general elections. As long as you are in line by the 7pm closing time, you should be allowed to vote.
No campaigning is allowed within 150 feet of the building where the poll is located. You may not hand out materials or ask people for their vote at the polling station. Red signs are posted around the polling station as a reminder. This also means that people cannot come up to you to influence your vote. By law, you are not supposed to wear campaign buttons, signs, pins, stickers, T-shirts, etc. This is not always enforced, but this is really not the time to try to change people's minds....
The atmosphere waiting in line is unique. There is a sense of that mixture of duty and privilege in voting. It makes you feel American - even more than fireworks on the 4th of July ever could. And even though you know that the person in front of you and the person behind you might not vote the same way that you will, there's still a bit of patriotic camaraderie there. Purposeful, respectful, awesome! Can't go on election day?If you cannot go to the polls on election day, you can vote ahead of time by mail with an absentee ballot. You must apply for an absentee ballot from your county election office. The ballot must be signed & received on or before election day.
As an option to absentee voting, a new law allows you to vote during the week before an election (Monday-Friday) by going in person to your county's voter registration office. You will not have to declare a reason for voting early, and in most counties you will cast your vote on one of the new touch-screen machines. At the poll - casting your voteNear the end of the wait in line, you will fill out a "voter's certificate" slip with your name and residence address. NOTE: There are different slips for Democratic and Republican party primaries.
You will then give this and proper identification to the poll officials who will verify that you are listed as a registered voter on the precinct list. You are then given a card to insert into the next available voting machine. They will be lined up around the room on special folding tables with partitions to shield the view of/from adjacent voting machines.
The voting machines are electronic touch screen machines, and are fairly easy to use. There are instruction posted at the polling stations. One oddity in the operation of the machines is in the way you change your mind or correct an error in your selection. When you make a selection, you touch the box next to your choice. The box changes to red and an "X" appears. To change your choice, you must first touch the current selection to deselect it, then you can make another choice. That makes it harder to accidentally change your vote.
If something does not seem correct, stop and immediately call for a poll worker to check it out. They are there to help with any machine or ballot problems. You cannot do anything about your vote once you have completed the process.
You have a chance to review your vote before you touch the final "button" to cast your vote. At that point, the card ejects to complete the voting process. You then return the card to a poll worker (and get your "I voted" sticker!).
For more information on voting machine operation, including an interactive on line demo, see www.georgiacounts.com |
