Political expedience

■ Absentee ballots: Georgia is now taking applications for absentee ballots in the Nov. 8 general election. All registered voters in Georgia are eligible to cast absentee ballots, although the General Assembly added some restrictions — including tougher ID requirements — when it passed a new voting law last year. Voters can request applications for absentee ballots at securemyabsenteeballot.sos.ga.gov. They also can call their county election office and ask that an application be mailed to them, or they can pick one up at their local election office. The deadline for applying is Oct. 28. County election offices will start mailing out ballots Oct. 10.

■ Housing proposals: Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, who is running for reelection, unveiled three pieces of legislation this past week to make housing more affordable. One would create a tax credit for people who pay more than 30% of their income in rent. The second would establish tax-free savings accounts that can be used to make a down payment on a home. The third would require the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to collect more data on affordable housing.

■ Two-party backing: Former Democratic state Rep. Alisha Thomas Searcy picked up bipartisan support in her campaign for state school superintendent from two former U.S. secretaries of education: Arne Duncan, who served under Democratic President Barack Obama; and Roderick Paige, who was appointed by Republican President George W. Bush.

■ Cops for Carr. The Police Benevolent Association has endorsed Republican Attorney General Chris Carr for reelection. The group also recently threw its support behind the campaigns of two other Republicans: state Sen. Tyler Harper for agriculture commissioner and state Sen. Burt Jones for lieutenant governor. It previously endorsed Gov. Brian Kemp.