Georgia Absentee Ballots Sent Out Tuesday Ahead of Tight Presidential Vote

ATLANTA, GA — Absentee voting officially got underway Tuesday in Georgia, ahead of what's predicted to be the Peach State's closest presidential election in years.

Tuesday was the first day the Georgia Secretary of State's office could mail out absentee ballots for the November 8 General Election.

Voters wishing to request an absentee ballot can submit a written application to their local county registrar or log on to the Secretary of State's "My Voter Page (MVP)" to print out the application, which can be mailed to the registrar.

"Through MVP, requesting an absentee ballot has never been easier in Georgia," Secretary of State Brian Kemp said in a news release. "I was proud to bring this new innovation to our state along with other helpful web-based platforms, such as the online voter registration system and the ‘GA SOS’ smartphone app.

"Georgia is a national leader in utilizing technologies to educate citizens about elections, voting, and the importance of participation in the electoral process for all levels of government."

Voters are advised to request absentee ballots to vote by mail in the General Election well in advance of the November 4 deadline.

Uniformed military voters are only required to submit one absentee ballot application to receive absentee ballots for an entire election cycle.

For months, polls have shown a tight presidential race in Georgia between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump.

The most recent, from Monmouth University, shows Trump narrowly ahead of Clinton in what amounts to a statistical dead heat.

Other important upcoming dates in the election include:

• The deadline to register to vote or update voter information is October 11. Georgia citizens can submit an electronic voter registration application using their Georgia driver’s license number or state-issued identification card number on several platforms: Online Voter Registration (OLVR), the free “GA SOS” mobile app for Apple and Android devices, and the recently announced “2VOTE” text messaging pilot project. Individuals can also mail in hard-copy voter registration applications to their county registrar to register to vote by the deadline.
• Advance in-person voting begins on October 17. State law also requires the polls to be open on Saturday, October 29 in all 159 counties for Georgians to vote in the November contests. Voters may, again, check the Secretary of State's voting pages for information on which of their local polling places will be open for early-voting.

State flag image courtesy Georgia Secretary of State's office