Early voting for June 9 primary ends Friday

Image
  • Megan Broome/The Clayton Tribune. Poll Worker Pat Hopper disinfects the entire voting area at the Board of Elections Office after each person finishes casting their ballot. Only one voter at a time is allowed inside the building for early voting as part of COVID-19 contact precautions.
    Megan Broome/The Clayton Tribune. Poll Worker Pat Hopper disinfects the entire voting area at the Board of Elections Office after each person finishes casting their ballot. Only one voter at a time is allowed inside the building for early voting as part of COVID-19 contact precautions.
Body

CLAYTON— Early voting for the June 9 presidential preference and general primary election ends on Friday. 

The last day to request an absentee ballot is 5 p.m. Friday and it’s also the last day ballots will be mailed out, said Tammy Whitmire, elections supervisor, on Monday. 

The ballot that voters fill out has a date of “May 19” but Whitmire said that this is the correct ballot. 

She said that the state did not mail out new ballots when the date of the election changed. 

Whitmire said that the ballots are being mailed out from the Board of Elections Office during this last week of early voting, rather than the state. 

“It [absentee ballot] has to be back here [election’s office] by 7 p.m. June 9,” Whitmire said. 

The Rabun County Civic Center is the polling location on election day. 

The absentee ballot application can be returned by email, fax, mail or placed in drop box 105 outside the Board of Elections Office. 

However, the paper ballot itself can only be submitted via mail or placed in the drop box. 

Whitmire said that if someone requests a ballot on Friday, they likely wouldn’t receive their ballot until Monday or Tuesday. 

In that case, they should submit it in person to ensure it arrives at the office by the closing of polls on Tuesday. She added that it will likely not make it to the office in time if it is mailed back at that point. 

Whitmire said that if someone who requested and received an absentee ballot decides they want to vote in person, they have that option. 

“It does take a few steps to get that completed,” Whitmire said. 

She said that when the voter arrives to vote, they should notify the poll worker that they received an absentee ballot but did not fill it out. 

The poll worker would then contact Whitmire to double check and ensure the absentee ballot is cancelled before voting in person. 

Whitmire noted that if the voter brings their incomplete ballot with them, it will speed up that confirmation process. 

Rabun County usually has a 50-60 percent turnout for voting, according to Whitmire. 

Do I need a separate absentee ballot application for each election?

Every voter will need to fill out and submit a separate absentee ballot application for each election unless they meet certain criteria:

-Age 65 or older

-Disabled

-UOCAVA Voter- Member of armed forces or Merchant Marines of the United States, commissioned corps of the Public Health Service or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, spouse or dependent residing with or accompanying said member, or a United States citizen residing overseas.

 “We can send them ballots for the rest of the year,” Whitmire said about voters meeting any of these exceptions.

She said that voters meeting any exception rule will be mailed paper ballots for every election for the rest of the year and do not need to fill out another application.

The application for an absentee ballot can also be found at “My Voter Page” mvp.sos.ga.gov/MVP/mvp.do. and type in your information in the box on the right-hand side. 

You can also register to vote, view your registration status and get the latest election news from this website. 

Will there be contact precautions on Election Day?  

Social distancing procedures due to the COVID-19 pandemic will still be enforced on the day of election. 

As with early voting, tape marking where voters should stand will be shown on the ground at the Civic Center entrance. 

Whitmire said that there will be a clear path for voters to follow to maintain order. 

Voters are required to stand six feet apart while waiting to vote and these spaces will be marked. 

“We’ll be cleaning between each voter,” Whitmire said. She said that this will add to the wait time. 

Poll workers wear face shields as part of their Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for safety precautions. 

Voters are not required to wear a mask or protective equipment, according to officials. 

These contact precautions were implemented during early voting. 

As of about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, 680 people had early voted in person, Whitmire reported. 

In addition, the elections office received back 2,529 absentee by mail ballots and 3 military overseas ballots. 

Whitmire said that ballots for military members overseas are added in the system differently to ensure they are kept up with. 

There were still 1,519 outstanding absentee by mail ballots and 14 outstanding overseas ballots as of Tuesday. 

Should I anticipate a longer wait time? 

Voters should also anticipate longer wait times on the day of election. 

“It is a longer ballot. It may take a little more time to vote,” Whitmire said. “Be prepared."

She said voters should plan for the extra time before arriving. 

Whitmire said that voters should also be prepared to wait a few hours to get election results that night.  

She said that no ballots are counted before the day of election, and that includes any early voting numbers and absentee ballots. 

“Everything is done on election day,” Whitmire reiterated. ‘

If I voted in the March 24 election does my vote count? 

Every voter will be able to vote in the June 9 general primary election and what’s on their ballot depends on whether the voter cast their ballot in the March 24 presidential preference primary. 

If you voted in the election on March 24, your votes for presidential preference and ESPLOST have been recorded, Whitmire said. 

For the June 9 election “you’ll just get a regular, general ballot,” Whitmire said. She said that the voting system has record of who voted and didn’t vote. 

Those who didn’t vote on March 24 will receive a “combined ballot” for the general primary election on June 9, Whitmire said. 

This “combined ballot” will have options to vote for presidential preference, ESPLOST and state, federal and local elections. 

“This is a primary, so they have to pick a ballot style they want,” Whitmire said about submitting their application for an absentee ballot. 

They would select a political party at the top of the form, whether Democratic, Non Partisan or Republican. 

If a voter chooses a “Non Partisan” party option, they would only be able to cast votes for Supreme Court Judge, Court of Appeals Judge, Superior Court Judge, Probate Judge and if they have a combined ballot, the ESPLOST. 

Can I still register to vote in the August and November races? 

The deadline to register to vote for the runoff election depends on whether there is a federal runoff. 

A runoff election will be decided after the votes from the June 9 election are certified. If a federal runoff is needed, voter registration will reopen until July 13. 

If there is no federal runoff, only state and local candidates, then voter registration for the election will not reopen. 

“The runoff is a continuation of the same election,” Whitmire said. So, the voter has to choose the same ballot style as they did in the primary.

However, if they opted for a Non Partisan ballot in the primary they can decide between a Democratic or Republican ballot in the runoff. 

What happens if there is a runoff election? 

Whitmire said that a candidate has to receive “50 percent plus one” votes to win, or there will be a runoff election. 

She said that a runoff will likely be needed for some contested races in this election. 

Early voting for the runoff election is July 20-August 7 and voters cast their vote at the Rabun County Board of Elections Office. 

With Saturday voting on August 1. 

Day of runoff election is August 11 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Civic Center. 

Whitmire said that voters can go ahead and request an absentee ballot for the runoff election if they want. 

The general election is on November 3 and the registration deadline for that election is October 5. 

 Can I share my completed ballot on social media?

“It’s illegal to take pictures of your ballot,” Whitmire said. She said that if someone posts a picture of their ballot on social media, they could potentially have a case brought against them by the state of Georgia.

“I would not encourage anybody to do that,” Whitmire said.

Contact the Rabun County Board of Elections Office: 

Mail: 18 Old Raco High Dr. Suite 105, Clayton

Drop Box 105 outside the front entrance

Phone: 706-782-1878

Fax: 706-782-3754

Email: twhitmire@rabuncounty.ga.gov

Website: http://rabuncounty.ga.gov/elections.php

Breakdown of upcoming election dates:

Friday: The last day to request an absentee ballot for the June 9 election and the last day ballots for that election will be mailed out. 

July 20-August 7: Early voting for the runoff election. The deadline to register to vote in the runoff election is open from the time the June 9 election is certified until July 13 (but only if there is a federal runoff). 

August 11: Election Day for the runoff. 

October 5: The deadline to register to vote in the Nov. 3 election. 

November 3: 2020 General Election Day.