Today is the final day Georgia residents can register to vote in this year’s Nov. 5 presidential election.
The Georgia Secretary of State’s Office says eligible residents have until close of business on Oct. 7 to submit their voter registration application online or via U.S. mail.
Folks who don’t have internet access can register to vote at their local county board of elections and registration office, their county library, or their county department of driver services by today.
Clayton, Cobb, Fulton, and Gwinnett counties’ voter registration and election offices close at 5 p.m. during the week, according to their respective websites. DeKalb County’s Voter Registration & Elections Office closes at 4:30 p.m., according to its website.
Registration forms submitted via U.S. mail must be postmarked by each county office’s close of business on Oct. 7. Those who haven’t registered by the deadline won’t be able to vote in the presidential election between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, according to Mike Hassinger, public information officer for elections in the secretary of state’s office.
They also won’t be able to vote in any potential local runoff elections.
Early voting
Early voting in this fall’s election takes place from Oct. 15 to Nov. 1. On Election Day, Nov. 5, most polls are scheduled to be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Click here for a list of Fulton County early voting times and locations.
Click here for a list of DeKalb County early voting times and locations.
Click here for a list of Cobb County early voting times and locations.
Click here for a list of Clayton County early voting times and locations.
Click here for a list of Gwinnett County early voting times and locations.
To be eligible to register to vote in Georgia, you must be a U.S. citizen, a legal resident of the county, and at least 17.5 years of age. Individuals serving active felony convictions for crimes of moral turpitude and people found mentally incompetent by a judge are not eligible to vote.
Voting rights advocates encourage eligible Georgia residents to vote early in person if possible to give themselves time to correct any problems they may encounter before Election Day. Residents who wait until Election Day may discover their polling precinct has changed due to redistricting earlier this year.
Absentee ballots
Those who can’t make it in person to vote have until Oct. 25 to request an absentee ballot through the mail. Mail-in ballots may be subject to U.S. Postal Service delays that prevent them from being received and processed on time.
More than 8.1 million people were listed on Georgia’s voter registration database as of Monday, Sept. 30, according to the secretary of state’s office. That includes about 1.89 million Black voters.
