Absentee, and Advance Voting – Introduction

Absentee and Advance Voting – Introduction

In Georgia, any voting which occurs prior to Election Day is considered Absentee Voting.  This includes voting through the mail, as well as voting in person at Advance Voting Locations.  This ensures that all registered voters are given an opportunity to cast a ballot in every election they are eligible to vote in, no matter what their personal situation is.

Voting in person prior to Election Day is accomplished by Advance Voting.  While voting through the mail is accomplished using Absentee by Mail.  Again, any ballot cast using one of these processes is considered to be an Absentee Ballot.

Absentee Ballots are not counted until Election Day; however, they are included in the vote totals in the same manner as ballots cast at an Election Day Polling Place.  In other words, once a voter has cast his or her Absentee Ballot, there is not a question as to whether or not that vote will be counted unless a formal challenge is made to that voter’s qualifications to vote in that Election.

The Absentee Ballot results are release during the same time frame as the Election Day Results on Election Night and are available to the public in the same manner.  However, the process of counting the Absentee Ballots is very time consuming and the results are usually not tabulated and ready to release until later in the evening than most of the Election Day Results.  The Unofficial Results Page where you can obtain these totals on Election Night will indicate whether or not the Absentee Results have been included in the Unofficial Vote Totals yet.

If you are interested in the process of counting Absentee Ballots, please feel free to stop by on Election Day to observe the counting process.  Please call our office before Election Day so that we can give you the specific time and location that the counting will take place.  Also, if the counting begins prior to 7:00 PM then anyone included in the counting process, including any observers, must remain sequestered until 7:00 PM so that no results may be released prior to the close polls.