VOTE BY MAIL

Georgia will mail requests for ballots to state’s 6.9 million active voters to cut crowds at polls.

All of Georgia’s 6.9 million active voters will be mailed absentee ballot request forms for the May 19 primary.

All of Georgia’s 6.9 million active voters will be mailed absentee ballot request forms for the May 19 primary, a major push to encourage voting by mail during the coronavirus pandemic, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced Tuesday.

The absentee voting effort will allow Georgians to decide on their choices for president and other elected offices from home, without having to visit in-person voting locations where the coronavirus could more easily spread. Early vot

ing and Election Day precincts will remain open.

A large number of people vot

ing by mail would be a significant change in the way elec

tions are run in Georgia. While the state has allowed any voter to cast a ballot by mail since 2005, just 7% of voters did so in the 2018 election for governor.

The state’s absentee ballot initiative follows an agreement by Raffensperger, a Republican, and the Democratic Party of Georgia to delay the previously scheduled March 24 presidential primary because of the coronavirus. The presidential primary will now be

held May 19, along with races for the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House, the Georgia General Assembly and local offices.

“Times of turbulence and upheaval like the one we Georgians face require decisive action if the liberties we hold so dear are to be preserved,” Raffensperger said. “I am act

ing today because the people of Georgia, from the earliest settlers to heroes like Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Congressman John Lewis, have

fought too long and too hard for their right to vote to have it curtailed.”

Voters will be required to return their absentee ballot request forms before they receive an actual ballot.

Absentee ballot request forms will be mailed to voters next week. Then voters will choose whether they want to vote in the Democratic Party or Repub

lican Party primary, sign their names, add a 55-cent stamp, and put the forms in the mail. County election offices will