Drop Box Played Prominent Role In Oconee County Absentee Voting

More than half of the absentee ballots received in Oconee County in the Nov. 3, 2020, election were deposited in the drop box in front of the Elections and Registration Office opposite the Courthouse in downtown Watkinsville.

Of the ballots received after early voting ended, 60.1 percent were via the secure drop box in the front of the elections office.

Of the ballots received before early voting started, half came in via the drop box.

In the Jan. 5 U.S. Senate runoff, the drop box played an even larger role, in terms of percent of absentee ballots deposited, percent before early voting started, and percent after early voting ended.

The secure drop box outside the Elections and Registration Office has been eliminated, as required by the new voting law passed by the General Assembly earlier this year that went into effect on July 1.

In its place, the county has purchased a new drop box that will be inside the Election and Registration Office and operational only when that office is open.

These percentages come from an analysis of the Drop Box Ballot Transfer Forms for the two elections and indicate that the new voting law likely will have the intended effect of decreasing prominence of absentee ballots in future county elections.

For more on this story, please go to Oconee County Observations.