To increase voter turnout and allow individuals more convenience and flexibility come election time, Georgia is one 31 states to incorporate early voting into its election system.
Early voting in Georgia doesn’t require the individual to cast a ballot on voting day, but instead, before the determined day. Georgia voting incorporated this early option to allow greater access to polls; by voting early in person an individual essentially works around his or her schedule to vote and not on a selected day.
Georgia’s early voting procedures are more complicated than the 30 other states who have instituted early voting polls in their respective areas. The complication stems from varied forms; Georgia possesses two distinct vehicles through which early voting is made possible.
Early voting in Georgia is defined as casting a ballot between 45 days and one week before the affirmed Election Day. This time frame, however, is only applicable to a general primary or a general election. For a municipal primary, early voting in Georgia requires that the individual submit his or her ballot 21 day to a week ahead of the Election Day.
Dissimilar to many participating states, Georgia early voting requires that all ballots be cast in person–at the county registrar’s office–and not through the US postal service.
Advanced voting occurs when an individual casts a ballot the week before Election Day. This technique is held separately from early voting; advanced voting is available in more locations than early voting and is strictly up to the discretion of the county authorities. The majority of counties in Georgia set up advance polling booths at courthouses and libraries.