Voting Guide 2024 Georgia
Georgia General Election
Election Day
Tuesday November 5
Registration Deadline
October 7 (postmarked)
Check Your Registration status.
Automatic Voter Registration
YES
Election Day Registration
NO
How to Register to Vote
Register online! You must have a valid driver's license or ID card with a signature on file with DDS in order to complete the registration online. If you don't have either of these forms of ID you can complete the paper registration form.
Youth Pre-Registration
YES
People otherwise qualified to vote and who will be at least 18 years old on election day may register to vote beginning at age 17.5 years old. Ga. Code Ann. § 21-2-216(c).*
Early Voting/Absentee-in-Person
YES
Early Voting Dates
October 14 - November 1 (times may vary) (only 2 Saturdays included; it’s up to each county whether voting available Sundays).**
Early Voting Drop Boxes
YES
Drop Boxes available to drop absentee ballots, but each county has only a few. Locations found at county election and registrar or recorder websites.***
Early Voting Locations
Early Voting Locations Lookup or use My Voter Page.
Absentee Ballots
YES. NO EXCUSE NEEDED.
Absentee Ballot Request
See Absentee Ballot Website and Absentee Voting Guide.
Application Period: August 19-October 25 (Must be received, not postmarked, by deadline.)
REQUEST EARLY TO RETURN ON TIME
Absentee Ballot Application online portal. Submit Application online, via email, mail, fax, or in person to local County registrar, recorder, or elections office or Drop Box.
Absentee Ballots Mailed Out
October 7-November 1
Absentee Ballot Return
Return Deadline: Received by November 5 @ 7pm.
DO NOT RETURN TO POLLING PLACE. If you change your mind and want to vote in person, see endnote.****
If mailing, USPS recommends mailing by October 29 to ensure on-time arrival.
Return Methods: 1) US Mail; 2) hand deliver to county registrar (check your county for drop off locations), or 3) place in county Drop Box.
How to Vote Absentee Ballot
Follow instructions provided by County with your absentee ballot. Envelopes will be provided. Copy of photo ID should be placed in outer envelope. Sign the outer envelope. Make sure info on outer envelope matches info on your photo ID! Postage is required. See Absentee Voting Guide.
Sample Ballots
View sample ballot online.
Election Day Vote In Person
Tuesday November 5, 7am - 7pm
Election Day Polling Places
How to Vote Election Day
Present Photo ID, get voter card from poll worker, proceed to voting station to vote electronically, print ballot.
Polling Place Electioneering
Buffer Zone: 150 ft. of the outer edge of the building where a polling place is established, or within 25 ft. of any voter standing in line (Ga. Code § 21-2-414).
Prohibited Activities: Campaign materials/signs/banners/literature; Money or gifts, including food or drink; Influencing voters/soliciting votes/political persuasion; Circulating petitions/soliciting signatures; polls/exit polls (NOTE: exit polls and opinion polls are prohibited within 25 ft. of the exit).
See NCSL Electioneering Table.
Press Access to Polling Place
Press must adhere to electioneering prohibitions.*****
Poll Worker Info
To become a poll worker, check with your county election department. Applications for the 2024 election year may be closed at this time, but there may be other opportunities still open. See, for example, Fulton County Elections Poll Worker Info.
Photo ID
REQUIRED
Photo ID. Valid IDs include: 1) GA Driver's License, OK if expired, 2) Valid gov’t employee photo ID, 3) Valid U.S. passport ID, 4) Valid U.S. military photo ID, 5) Valid tribal photo ID. See also, here and here.
Provisional Ballots
YES
If you have a good faith belief you are properly registered in your county, you have the right to vote a provisional ballot. For instance, if you forget your photo ID at your polling place, ask for a provisional ballot, and after casting your ballot, you have 3 days to present your valid photo ID to your county registrar. See, Provisional Ballot Voting Guide 2022.
The provisional ballot will count if your eligibility can be determined within three days after Election Day by your County Registrar’s office.
Tracking Registration, Ballots, and More
Georgia uses one portal for tracking everything related to your vote here. You can track: Voter Registration; Mail-In Application and Ballot; Poll Location; Early Voting Locations; Registration Information; Sample Ballot; Provisional Ballot.
Ballot Measures
Legislative Referral Only, No Veto
Three ballot measures, one regarding tax court and two regarding homestead and personal property tax exemptions.
College Students
Vote at College: To vote in Georgia, you will need to register to vote in Georgia. If you attend college in Georgia and live away from home, you will need to register to vote at your current address, whether on- or off-campus. If you have moved to Georgia from another state, you must have continuously resided in your Georgia county for 30 days prior to Election Day. You will need to acquire a GA DMV-issued driver’s license or ID if you wish to register online or use Same Day Registration.
Vote in Home State/County: If you prefer to vote in your home state (state from which you moved to attend college in Nevada), you can vote by mail with an absentee ballot.******
People with Felony Convictions
YES
Allowed to vote if civil rights restored; civil rights automatically restored upon completion of first-time felon's sentence and payment of un-canceled fines. See Voter Right Restoration Fact Sheet from the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Time Off to Vote
YES
Two (2) hours off to vote during early voting or on election day. Employer may specify when employer takes time off to vote. Whether paid time or not is not mentioned. See, GA Code § 21-2-404.
Helpful Websites
Georgia Secretary of State Elections, Absentee Voting Guide, Additional Voting Guides, Election Calendar
Photo Credit: Chris Boese
Footnotes
* Youth Pre-Registration.
Registered voters under the age of 18 may not cast their ballot until they are 18 years old (i.e., if you turn 18 on November 5, you may not vote during the Early Voting period).
See Federal Election Center Georgia Voting Guide.
** Websites for Georgia’s 10 Biggest Counties
Note that Georgia’s county elections lookup page does not provide websites.
Athens-Clarke County Elections Office and Clarke County Absentee & Drop Box Loc.
Chatham County Elections Office, Chatham County Registrar & Drop Box Locations (small print in third bullet under How to Cast Your Absentee Ballot section)
Cherokee County Board of Elections and Cherokee County Drop Box Locations
Clayton County Elections Office and Clayton County Drop Box Locations
Cobb County Elections Office and Cobb County Drop Box Locations
DeKalb County County Elections Office and DeKalb County Drop Box Locations (the drop box locations are indicated with asterisks)
Forsyth County Voter Registrations & Elections Office and Forsyth County Drop Box Location (it is inside lobby of Voter Registrations & Elections Office, so assuming they keep the lobby open until poll closing at 7pm)
Fulton County Elections Office and Fulton County Absentee Ballot Drop Box Loc.
Gwinnett County Elections Office and Gwinnett County Recorder & Drop Box Loc.
Henry County Board of Elections Voting Info but no drop box locations posted here, so call or email Henry County Board of Elections at (770) 288-6448.
*** Early Voting Drop Boxes.
Note that Absentee Ballot Website does not mention drop boxes, but there are one or more in each county that can be used to return absentee ballots.
**** Absentee Ballots – Changing Your Mind to Vote in Person.
If voter has received their absentee ballot, they may change their mind and vote in person by surrendering their absentee ballot to a poll worker at their polling place.
***** Media Access Overview for Georgia
(from Yale Media Freedom & Information Access Clinic with Protect Democracy)
Only poll workers, observers, and people actively voting are allowed in the “enclosed space,” § 21-2-413, the area within the polling place where the voting machines are located. § 21-2-267.
Exit or public opinion polling is not allowed within 25 feet of the polling place building’s exit. § 21-2-414(c)(1). Photography and recording are not allowed inside the polling place.
§ 21-2-413(e). Electioneering is not allowed within 150 feet of the building where the polling place is, or within 25 feet of a voter standing in line. § 21-2-414(a).
Poll managers can control how many people are inside the polling place, except they must allow credentialed poll watchers, poll workers, and law enforcement officers. § 21-2-414(c)(2).
******College Students
College and university IDs must include the voter’s address to be used as voter ID, even if the voter has a separate document showing their address. See Fair Elections Center – Georgia.
Although a few states still require an excuse to use a mail absentee ballot, all states include as one of their qualified excuses simply that you will be out of county or state on election day, which would apply to most college students residing away from home. Some states specify being a college student as one of the qualified excuses, as well. See, No-Excuse Absentee Voting States and Excuse Required Absentee Voting States.
Being deemed out-of-state for tuition purposes does not prevent you from choosing to register to vote in your campus community. Fair Elections Center – Georgia
Being registered to vote at a different address from your parents does not prevent them from claiming you as a dependent on their taxes.
More info at Fair Elections Center and Fair Elections Center State Voting Guides. See Vote411, your home state or county election website, or another voter info site for your state’s rules.