Elections FAQ

To register to vote you must be:

• A citizen of the United States.
• A legal resident of Georgia and of the county in which you wish to vote.
• At least 17 1/2 years of age to register and 18 to vote.

You may NOT register to vote if you are currently:

• Serving a sentence for a felony.
• Have been ruled determined mentally incompetent by a court.

Check your registration on the My Voter Page.

The simplest way is to submit a new registration application. The county registrar will see your existing registration and update the information from the new application. You can also change your address online.

If you are a U.S. citizen, you can provide proof of citizenship at your county registrar’s office or at your polling place when you go to vote.

Proof of citizenship could include a U.S. birth certificate, passport, or naturalization papers, but there are other acceptable documents you can show as proof of your citizenship. Click here for a list of acceptable proof of citizenship you can show. If you do not have documentation with you when you go to vote, you can cast a provisional ballot and present documentation to your county elections office within three days after Election Day for your ballot to be counted.

You can register any time. You must be registered at least 30 days before an election to vote in that election. Look at the key dates to ensure you’re registering before the deadline for the election you want to participate in.

The simplest way is to submit a new registration application. The county registrar will see your existing registration and update the information from the new application. You can also change your legal name online.

Convicted felons are not eligible to register and vote in the State of Georgia except upon completion of the sentence, including any probation, parole, or payment of fines owed.

No, you will not be required to reregister if you elect not to vote in a particular election. If, however, your record shows that you are in "Inactive" status, this means that you have not had contact with your county election office within the last five years. Please see the Inactive Status section of the Voter Resources page, under "Quick Voter Links" for more information. 

You can verify whether you are a registered voter in Georgia by accessing My Voter Page. Contact your county registrar for further assistance.

Contact your county registration office and advise them you would like to cancel your voter registration in Georgia.

No with exceptions for Vote Safe voters; refer to O.C.G.A § 21-2-225.

Currently the State of Georgia does not offer online voting, but the State of Georgia does offer online registration.  See the How-To Guide: Registering to Vote page for more information.

Please visit the VoteSafe page for detailed information on the program and how to apply.

Download the absentee ballot application, complete it and mail or deliver it to your county election office. Or you can scan it or take a photo of it and email that to the election office.

Download the Absentee Voting In Georgia guide>>

Find more information on Absentee Voting in the Absentee Voting section of the How To Guide: Voting page.

To protect against voter fraud, Georgia law only allows close relatives and caregivers to request and return absentee ballots for another person. If you are either a close relative or caregiver, you can download an Absentee Ballot Application and send it to the voter’s county election office.

Download the Absentee Voting In Georgia guide>>

Your county, which runs the election where you live, can begin sending out absentee ballots to military and overseas voters 45 days before a federal election, 29 days before an election to all other voters or 22 days before municipal or special elections. The U.S. Postal Service recommends allowing 7-10 days for delivery.

Contact your county elections office since they run elections locally. They can issue you a new one or tell you how to cancel that absentee ballot so you can vote in person.

Once your absentee ballot has been placed in the mail or in a ballot drop box, it has been cast and cannot be canceled. If you never received the absentee ballot you requested or have but didn’t yet return it, you can cancel it to vote in person. It will save time if you bring the ballot with you when you go to vote.

You can ask a poll worker for another ballot to correct a mistake before you cast it.

• If voting in person, simply ask a nearby poll worker.
• If voting absentee, contact your county elections office about cancelling your ballot and getting a new one.

Contact your county elections office since they run elections locally. They can issue you a new one or tell you how to cancel that absentee ballot so you can vote in person.

Take your absentee ballot with you to the poll and the poll manager or poll worker can cancel that ballot and allow you to vote on the touch screen. You must RETURN your cancelled ballot in order to vote, however.

Any application for an absentee ballot sent to any elector by any person or entity shall utilize form APP-21_V2. Please complete the gray fields at the bottom of pages 1 and 2 to include the name and address of the person, organization, or other entity distributing the application.

This form is provided pursuant to Ga. Code § 21-2-381(a)(1)(C)(ii)(iii)(I)(II)(III)

Download Application for Georgia Official Absentee Ballot form APP-21_V2.

It shall be the duty of the State Election Board:

(1) To promulgate rules and regulations so as to obtain uniformity in the practices and proceedings of superintendents, registrars, deputy registrars, poll officers, and other officials, as well as the legality and purity in all primaries and elections;

(2) To formulate, adopt, and promulgate such rules and regulations, consistent with law, as will be conducive to the fair, legal, and orderly conduct of primaries and elections; and, upon the adoption of each rule and regulation, the board shall promptly file certified copies thereof with the Secretary of State and each superintendent;

(3) To publish and furnish to primary and election officials, from time to time, a sufficient number of indexed copies of all primary and election laws and pertinent rules and regulations then in force;

(4) To publish and distribute such explanatory pamphlets regarding the interpretation and application of primary and election laws as in the opinion of the board should be distributed to the electorate;

(5) To investigate, or authorize the Secretary of State to investigate, when necessary or advisable the administration of primary and election laws and frauds and irregularities in primaries and elections and to report violations of the primary and election laws either to the Attorney General or the appropriate district attorney who shall be responsible for further investigation and prosecution. Nothing in this paragraph shall be so construed as to require any complaining party to request an investigation by the board before such party might proceed to seek any other remedy available to that party under this chapter or any other provision of law;

(6) To make such recommendations to the General Assembly as it may deem advisable relative to the conduct and administration of primaries and elections;

(7) To promulgate rules and regulations to define uniform and nondiscriminatory standards concerning what constitutes a vote and what will be counted as a vote for each category of voting system used in this state;

(8) To employ such assistants as may be necessary;

(9) Subject to funds being specifically appropriated by the General Assembly, to formulate and conduct a voter education program concerning voting procedures for voting by absentee ballot and at the polls with particular emphasis on the proper types of identification required for voting; and

(10) To take such other action, consistent with law, as the board may determine to be conducive to the fair, legal, and orderly conduct of primaries and elections.

HISTORY: Ga. L. 1958, p. 269, § 45; Ga. L. 1959, p. 57, § 1; Code 1933, § 34-202, enacted by Ga. L. 1968, p. 862, § 2; Ga. L. 1993, p. 118, § 1; Ga. L. 1993, p. 1670, § 1; Ga. L. 1998, p. 295, § 1; Ga. L. 2001, p. 230, § 2; Ga. L. 2003, p. 517, § 2; Ga. L. 2006, p. 3, § 1/SB 84; Ga. L. 2008, p. 781, § 2/HB 1112.

File a complaint with the Georgia Election Board

The law requires that your county provide polling places that are accessible to people with disabilities. And Georgia’s paper-ballot voting system has adjustments to accommodate various disabilities. The machines have a headset so you can hear your choices read to you. They have large controls for people with limited mobility. And they can accommodate sip-and-puff devices.

Also, if you are visually impaired, you can use an app on your phone to read your ballot to you before you cast it. Before you leave the polling place, you are required to delete any photos of your ballot necessary to read it.

Refer to the Voting Assistance for People with Disabilities page for more information. 

Any voter who is 75 years of age or older, or who is disabled and requires assistance in voting, may vote immediately at the next available voting compartment or booth without having to wait in line.

(As authorized by Code Section 21-2-409.)

Refer to the Voting Assistance for People with Disabilities page for more information. 

A candidate can withdraw from a race as provided under O.C.G.A. 21-2-134(a)(2). All votes for the withdrawn candidate shall be void and shall not be counted.

This information is available on the My Voter Page.