The last day to register to vote in the upcoming General and Special Elections is Monday, Oct. 5 – just one week prior to the start of early voting on Tuesday, Oct. 13.
People may register inside the Union County Voting Center at 33 Roscoe Collins Drive in Blairsville, and anyone with questions about registration or early voting may call the Board of Registrars at 706-439-6016.
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As of last week, the Union County electorate consisted of 23,767 total voters, with 22,069 active registered voters and 1,698 inactive voters.
“Inactive Status means you have not had contact with elections officials for five years,” according to the Secretary of State’s Office. “Once you are Inactive, after two general elections with no contact, you will receive notice that your registration will be cancelled.
“To change your status, simply vote, request an absentee ballot, sign a petition, or update your address.”
Midterm General Election ballots will feature one federal race for U.S. Senate and a bevy of state offices up for grabs, such as governor, lieutenant governor and secretary of state, as well as Georgia Senate and House of Representatives seats.
Voters will also be deciding whether to support three referendums as part of the county-specific Special Election: changing from a Sole Commissioner to a Five-Member Commission; renewing the Education-SPLOST by Union County Schools; and continuing the SPLOST by Union County Government.
All this and more will appear on ballots this November, with in-person early voting slated to begin on Tuesday, Oct. 13.
Also known as advanced voting, all in-person early voting will be held at the Voting Center from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the following days: Tuesday, Oct. 13 through Saturday, Oct. 17; Monday, Oct. 19, through Saturday, Oct. 24; and Monday, Oct. 26, through Friday, Oct. 30.
Voters who decide to wait until Election Day will need to head to their predetermined voting precincts between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Union County has 11 precincts: Blairsville, Jones Creek, Choestoe, Owltown, Coosa, Pat Colwell, Dooley, Suches, Gum Log, Trackrock and Ivy Log. As a reminder, the Blairsville and Trackrock precincts have permanently changed to the Multipurpose Gym next to the Voting Center.
Voters are advised that there will be a new check-in procedure when they show up to the polls in November. After being verified as a registered voter, people will see poll workers recording their names in ink to be entered “on the appropriate numbered list of voters.”
“Numbered list of voters” is defined as “one or more sheets of uniform size containing consecutively numbered blank spaces for the insertion of voters’ names at the time of and in the order of receiving their ballots.”
The State Election Board said the purpose of the rule, which went into effect July 19, is “to clarify and ensure compliance with statutory requirements that a numbered list of voters be created, maintained, and preserved as part of the official election record.”
“With the introduction of electronic devices to the voting processes (promoted as time saving and automated conveniences), the paper record of the numbered list of voters has inadvertently been removed from election conduct and documentation,” the State Election Board said.
Continuing, “Digital counters and electronic poll books provide central office information and allow for rapid voter credit capture; however, an auditable paper document is lacking.
“The numbered list of voters serves as the paper election document to supplement the electronic numbered list of voters and fulfills the requirement for an auditable paper election record.”
For people voting absentee-by-mail, ballots may be requested inside the Voting Center now through Friday, Oct. 23. Absentee ballot applications can be returned by mail, fax, as an email attachment, or in person at the Voting Center.
Absentee ballots will begin mailing Oct. 5. They can be returned using the official Voting Center drop box during early voting hours; mailed back in plenty of time to be counted after polls close on Election Day; or dropped off at the Voting Center through 7 p.m. Election Day.
Residents may visit https://mvp.sos.ga.gov for mail-in application and ballot status, poll location, registration information on file with the county, sample ballots for upcoming elections, provisional ballot status and more.
Sample ballots have also been posted to the “Union County, GA Elections & Voter Registration” Facebook page, under the “Elections & Voter Registration” tab at www.unioncountyga.gov and can be viewed at the Voting Center.
