GA Coronavirus: Vote-By-Mail Option Coming To All Voters

ATLANTA, GA — Registered voters in Georgia will be mailed absentee ballot request forms for the May 19 primary, according to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. This is a way to encourage voting by mail during the coronavirus pandemic, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The absentee ballot voting will allow people to select their presidential candidates and other elected offices from home without physically visiting the polls. Georgia early voting and election day precincts will remain open.

Georgia’s most vulnerable, those over age 65 and those with a disability, can request absentee ballots for the primary and general election as well as all elections through the 2020 election cycle with this one application. Other voters will need to submit another application for future elections. The elderly and disabled will to be able to vote in safety and security.

The state has allowed voters to cast their ballot by mail since 2005, but only seven percent did in the 2018 election for governor, says the AJC.

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The presidential primary is now scheduled for May 19, along with races for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, the Georgia General Assembly and local offices. Voters will have to return their absentee ballot request forms before they receive an actual ballot.

Voters will sign the forms, stamp it and drop it in the mail. Some county election offices will also accept absentee ballot applications by email and fax. Election officials will then mail the appropriate ballot, which will be counted if it’s received before polls close at 7 p.m. May 19.

Voters who already participated in the presidential primary will receive ballots with other races during the May 19 election. Voters who haven’t yet participated will receive ballots that include both presidential candidates and other candidates.

Globally, more than 392,000 people have been infected and more than 17,000 people have died from the COVID-19 virus, Johns Hopkins reported as of Tuesday. Of that total, more than 81,400 confirmed cases are in China, while the entire United States has 46,000 confirmed cases as of Tuesday. There have been 593 deaths in the U.S., including 32 in Georgia, that have been tied to the virus outbreak.

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