A familiar site: Polls open for early voting in Georgia primary

Three weeks of early voting began Monday for voters who want to cast their ballots in the Georgia primary before election day on May 24.

In-person early voting is usually the most popular way of participating in Georgia elections, providing at least 17 days when voters can pick a time that fits their schedule. About 54% of voters cast ballots in advance during the 2020 presidential election.

The primary includes races for Georgia governor, the U.S. Senate, statewide offices and the General Assembly. Early voting locations, hours and sample ballots are available online on the state’s My Voter Page at mvp.sos.ga.gov.

The primary might be the first time many voters will go to the polls since the General Assembly passed Georgia’s new voting law in March 2021, though some cities held local elections in the fall. Changes to voting laws affect early voting in several ways.

The minimum early voting hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Counties can offer up to 12 hours of daily early voting, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. In previous elections, early voting times were required during normal business hours, but the hours weren’t defined.

Early voting will be offered on two Saturdays, and local election offices have the option of providing voting hours on two Sundays as well. Before the law, one Saturday of early voting was required.

Early voting is available from May 2 to May 20. All voters also have the option of casting absentee ballots in advance of election day, but the rules have changed.

Voters can no longer request an absentee ballot online without signing a paper form. A driver’s license or other form of ID is also required. The state’s new absentee ballot request website is securemyabsenteeballot.sos.ga.gov.

The deadline to request an absentee ballot is now 11 days before election day, May 13 for the primary, and completed ballots must be received at local election offices before polls close.

Voters can return absentee ballots through the mail or in drop boxes, but fewer ballot drop boxes are available this year, and there won’t be an option during the final days of the election.

Georgia prohibits use of drop boxes except during early voting hours, and they must be located inside early voting locations. Each county’s number of drop boxes is capped at one for every 100,000 active voters or the number of early voting locations, whichever is lower. Each county must install at least one drop box.

JOHN SPINK/JOHN.SPINK@AJC.COM Voters gather Monday at the Buckhead Library for early voting in Atlanta. A lot of Georgians choose in-person early voting because it gives them a window of days that better accommodate them.