Ready for the vote?

Absentee ballots are already on the move and advance in-person voting begins next week as White County voters ready to decide for state and federal races in the upcoming general election.

County Elections Superintendent Garrison Baker and county Chief Voter Registrar Lisa Manning recently outlined key items voters will need to know as they prepare to cast a ballot.

Early voting

Early voting begins Tuesday, Oct. 13, at the Voter Registrar Office (1241 Helen Highway, Suite 210- A, in Cleveland). Instead of the usual Monday start, advance in-person voting kicks off a day later because the county office is closed Oct. 12 for the Columbus Day holiday, Manning said.

Hours for early voting will be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays from Tuesday, Oct. 13 through Friday, Oct. 30. Mandated Saturday voting will be on Oct. 24 from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.

With high turnout projected, election officials are touting early voting to ease congestion at the polls.

“We’ve got eight machines that are actually set up here [at the Voter Registrar Office], and so to streamline and not have to stand in long lines on Election Day, we encourage everyone that can to make plans to try to vote during the advanced voting period,” Baker said.

He also asks that voters social distance and to help keep polling places safe.

Absentee ballots

Manning said there have been many requests received for absentee ballots during the past month, much like elections held earlier this year amid COVID-19 concerns. She emphasized that Georgia is not a mail-in ballot state and that voters must file a request to receive an absentee ballot.

“We don’t just mail the ballots to the people, you have to request your absentee ballot and there’s a process,” Manning said. “You fill out an application or you can go online and do it. That’s how you request it. We cannot just send it to you. You can’t come into the office and pick one up. We have to mail you the absentee ballot.”

Online requests can be made through the Georgia Secretary of State’s My Voter Page website (www.mvp.sos.ga.gov). Another way is at securethevotega.com, a state website that sends the information directly to the White County voter registration system.

Completed absentee ballots can be returned via mail or dropped off at the Voter Registrar Office or its drop box. However, those who receive an absentee ballot and later decides to vote in person on Election Day will need to bring the ballot to their polling place to be canceled.

“We have to call the registrar’s office. We have to make sure we get that ballot canceled before we can allow them to vote,” Baker said.

The added step can slow down the voting process, so elections officials will try to accommodate such cases.

“Any voter that comes in and wants to turn in their absentee ballot on Election Day and cancel it, they’re going to be directed to another line,” Baker said. “It’s going to delay them a little bit longer. It’s not going to be a smooth process because they’ll have to wait until we can get those ballots canceled before they would be able to get in the voting line.

“We just want everybody to make sure that if you’re requesting an absentee ballot, if there’s a problem with it, you can bring it in and cancel it and vote on Election Day, but it will delay the process for voting there.”

Election Day

Election Day voting will be from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3, at regular voting precincts.

Voters could see a slight wait as they head to the polls on Election Day because of a lengthy ballot and expected high turnout.

“They’re calling up to an 80% to 85% turnout, so we may see 16,000 ballots cast in this election,” Baker said. “The most I ever recall in the 38 years we’ve been doing elections is about 12,000.”

Even with more voters potentially participating, some smaller polling places will be limited in how many voting machines can be set up due to efforts to provide social distancing.

“With that, we could see some delays in the line. We’re going to do our best to keep the line moving as quickly and smoothly as possible,” Baker said. “But we have to keep in mind we’ve got the COVID pandemic, we’ve got a big ballot, we’ve got a lot of people who may bring those absentee ballots in and cancel them. To ensure you don’t wait in line a long time, again I go back and encourage people to either vote absentee or do the advanced voting.”

Voters can also save time on Election Day by reviewing their ballot before heading to the polls.

“One of the things I would encourage all the voters to do would be to, we have not only the special election for the United States Senate that is going with 20 candidates on that, plus any write-ins, and then we’ve got the two constitutional amendments and one statewide referendum,” Baker said.

“In order to speed the process, we ask everyone to take a look at the sample ballot and make sure you know what to do when you come in,” Baker said. “Because if you haven’t seen a ballot or looked at it or made up your mind before you get into the precinct, it could take a few minutes for you get through that process, and that will cause some delays for us. So we do encourage everybody to do their homework and study the ballot before you go to vote, and then be prepared to cast your ballot.”

To find your polling location and more voter information, visit www.mvp.sos.ga.gov, call the White County Voter Registrar Office at 706-865-7812 or visit the office at 1241 Helen Highway, Suite 210- A, in Cleveland.