Absentee Voting

Absentee Voting In-Person

 

Georgia law provides three weeks of in-person early voting in regularly scheduled primaries and elections. Saturday voting is offered as well for (state/federal) primaries and elections on the 2nd Saturday prior to the date of the election.

Voters who vote in-person during the early voting process must provide one of the following 6 forms of photo identification required under Georgia law:

  • A valid Georgia driver's license, even if expired.
  • Any valid state or federal government issued photo ID.
  • 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
  • Valid tribal photo ID

If a citizen does not have one of the above acceptable forms of photo ID, the State of Georgia offers a free Voter ID Card that can be issued by the Board of Elections office or the Georgia Department of Driver Services. More information on Georgia's Voter Identification Requirements and obtaining a free Voter Identification Card is available at the Georgia Secretary of State's Website.

Absentee Voting By Mail
 

Georgia law allows for absentee by mail ballots to be requested no earlier than 78 days and no later than 11 days prior to an election. To request an absentee ballot, voters should complete an absentee ballot application and return the absentee ballot application to their county registration office. 

View the Absentee Voting in the Military website.

View the Application for an Official Absentee Ballot (PDF).

These forms of identification are acceptable to be submitted with your completed application if you do not have a Georgia Driver's License or State Identification Card Number :

Identification with your photograph:

  • United States military identification card
  • Employee identification card issued by any branch, department,
  • Agency, or entity of the United States government, Georgia state
  • Government, or Georgia county, municipality, board, authority, or
  • Any other entity of the state of Georgia
  • Georgia voter identification card
  • United States Passport
  • Tribal identification card

 

Documents that show your name and address:

  • Current utility bill
  • Paycheck
  • Bank statement
  • Other government document
  • Government check

 

How to return an  absentee ballot application:

Absentee ballot applications can be requested no earlier than 78 days prior to the election and no later than the 11th day before the election. You can return the form by : 

  • Mail – P.O. Box 919 Evans, GA 30809
  • Email (as an attachment) – vote @columbiacountyga.gov
  • Fax – (706) 868-3358 
  • In-person – 610 Ronald Reagan Drive Building G-3 Evans, GA 30809 

 

No person or entity other than the elector, a relative authorized to request an absentee ballot application for such elector, a person signing as assisting an illiterate or physically disabled elector with his or her application, a common carrier charged with returning the ballot application, an absentee ballot clerk, a registrar, or a law enforcement officer in the course of an investigation shall handle or return an elector's completed absentee ballot application. Handling a completed absentee ballot application by any person or entity other than as allowed in this paragraph is a misdemeanor.

How to Return Your Ballot

  • Absentee Ballots may be returned through the U.S. Mail.
  • A voter may hand deliver their own ballot to the Board of Elections office during normal office hours and until 7 pm on the day of the election.
  • Family members may hand deliver a ballot for a disabled person to the Elections office during normal office hours and until 7 pm on Election Night.

 

The best course of action is to personally mail or personally deliver your ballot yourself. However, Georgia law allows the below individuals to mail or deliver your ballot for you with your authorization:

  • Your mother, father, grandparent, aunt, uncle, brother, sister, spouse, son, daughter, niece, nephew, grandchild, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, mother-in-law, father-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law
  • An individual residing in the same household as the voter; or
  • The caretaker of a voter with disabilities.

 

You should not give your ballot to anyone else. Third-party groups, candidates, campaigns or anybody other than the people listed above are not allowed to collect your ballot (a practice known as "ballot harvesting"). It's against the law in Georgia. If an unknown person attempts to collect your ballot, even if they say they are from the Secretary of State's office or your county elections office, please report the person to the Secretary of State's office.