After the close of qualifying for each election, you may reference the official candidate qualifying database to see who is running for each elected office. Please access our poll locator to determine your respective congressional and legislative districts. Also, sample ballots are available through your county or municipal election superintendent's office prior to the election.

What is a registrar, primary, poll, etc.?

Please reference the Georgia Election Code for details regarding the electoral process in our state.

When do I vote?

Polls are open from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. on each election day. However, any voter who is waiting in line to vote at 7:00 p.m. will be allowed to vote. The best time to go to the polls to avoid having to wait in long lines appears to be anytime between 9:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. and avoiding the mid-day lunch hour, as peak voting hours historically are from 7:00 a.m. until 9:30 a.m., 4:30 p.m. until 7:00 pm, and during the mid-day lunch hour.

Where do I vote?

Each voter must vote at the polling place designated for the precinct in which the voter lives - the location of your polling place is located on your precinct card. If you have misplaced your card or do not know where your precinct is located, please use our poll locator.

Why should I vote?

Your vote is your voice in the governance of your city, county, state and country. As a citizen, you declare your rights and privileges with your vote. Contrary to popular belief, one vote - your vote - does makes a difference.

How do I vote?

Prior to the Election

Sample ballots are available through your county or municipal election superintendent's office prior to the election. Voters are authorized to carry a sample ballot or list of selected candidates with them to the polls to aid them in voting their ballot. You may not share the sample ballot or candidate list with other voters at the polls, but you may use it for your benefit.

If your hectic schedule ever kept you from getting to the polls on Election Day, a new Georgia law offers you a great solution - advance voting - designed to meet the needs of today�s busy Georgians. Previously, Georgia election law permitted you to cast an absentee ballot only if you met certain specific requirements.  With advance voting you may choose to vote in person before Election Day simply as a matter of convenience. Advance voting allows any registered voter to cast a ballot IN PERSON at their county board of registrars' office during normal business hours on the Monday through Friday of the week prior to an election. Simply fill out an application at your registration office and provide one of the permitted forms of identification. You will be issued a ballot to cast right there in the registrars' office. Please note that you cannot advance vote on the Monday immediately preceding the Tuesday election. Absentee voting is still available that day as long as you meet the specific requirements. And if you wish to cast a mailed absentee ballot from any location other than the registration office, you must still meet certain legal requirements. Traditional polling places will be open on Election Day. However if you choose to advance vote, you cannot cast another ballot at your precinct on Election Day.

Election Day

When you arrive at your polling place, you will complete a voter's certificate which asks for your name and residence address. You will then present the certificate and proper identification to the poll officials who will verify that you are a registered voter in that precinct by checking the voters list for that precinct. Voters are required to present identification at their polling place prior to casting their ballot. Proper identification shall consist of any one of the following:

(1) a valid Georgia driver's license;
(2) a valid identification card issued by a branch, department, agency, or entity of the State of Georgia, any other state, or the United States authorized by law to issue personal identification;
(3) a valid United States passport;
(4) a valid employee identification card containing a photograph of the elector and issued by any branch, department, agency, or entity of the United States government, this state, or any county, municipality, board, authority, or other entity of this state;
(5) a valid employee identification card containing a photograph of the elector and issued by any employer of the elector in the ordinary course of such employer's business;
(6) a valid student identification card containing a photograph of the elector from any public or private college, university, or postgraduate technical or professional school located within the state of Georgia;
(7) a valid Georgia license to carry a pistol or revolver;
(8) a valid pilot's license issued by the Federal Aviation Administration or other authorized agency of the United States;
(9) a valid United States military identification card;
(10) a certified copy of the elector's birth certificate;
(11) a valid social security card;
(12) certified naturalization documentation;
(13) or a certified copy of court records showing adoption, name, or sex change;
(14) A copy of a utility bill;
(15) A bank statement (will be kept confidential);
(16) A government check or payment with name and address; or
(17) A government document that shows the name and address of the elector.
Note: The precinct card you receive to confirm your voter registration and voting location is not a form of identification and is not sufficient identification to vote.

If an elector is unable to produce any of the required identification, the elector shall sign a statement under oath in a form approved by the Secretary of State, separate and distinct from the elector's voter certificate, swearing or affirming that he or she is the person identified on the elector's voter certificate. Such person shall be allowed to vote without undue delay. Falsely swearing or affirming such statement under oath is punishable as a felony.

If your name is found on the voter list, you will be issued a a voter access card and admitted into a voting booth to cast your vote using an electronic voting unit. After you cast your ballot the machine will automatically eject the voter access card and you will return the card to a poll official. Instructions on how to operate the electronic voting unit are posted at each polling place and you may ask a poll official for assistance.

Additional Notes:

• Georgia law requires employers to grant their workers up to two hours to vote on the day of an election. However, the employer is authorized to specify the hours which an employee may use. This provision does not apply to employees whose hours of work begin at least two hours after the polls open or end at least two hours before the polls close. There is no obligation for an employer to pay the employee for the time taken to vote.
   
• A voter may receive assistance at the polls if they are unable to read the English language or if he or she has a physical disability that renders them unable to see or mark the ballot, operate the voting equipment, or enter the voting booth. In order to do so, everyone, except those that are blind, must take an oath showing the reason they need assistance. The person providing the assistance to the voter must sign on the oath. When there is a federal candidate on the ballot, the voter can select anyone they want to assist them in voting, except for the voter's employer, an agent of that employer, or an officer or agent of the voter's union. When there is no federal candidate on the ballot, the voter can select any other resident of the precinct or a parent, sibling, spouse or child (provided they are not a candidate on the ballot or a relative of a candidate on the ballot) to assist them inside the voting booth. No person may assist more than ten voters in a primary, election, or runoff. Note: Between the hours of 9:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on the day of an election, voters who are 75 years of age or older or who are physically disabled may, upon request to a poll officer, vote immediately without waiting in line.
   
• Children under the age of 18 may accompany a parent into the voting booth. However, they may not be disruptive or interfere with the voting process, vote the ballot or operate any function of a vote recorder or voting machine.
   
• No person may campaign; distribute literature of written or printed matter of any kind; wear campaign buttons, signs, pins, stickers, T-shirts, etc.; circulate petitions; or perform similar activities within 150 feet of the building in which a polling place is located.

Absentee Voting