Record amount of absentee ballots requested for Georgia runoff elections

ATLANTA — The number of requested absentee ballots for the Georgia runoff elections is breaking records already.

In a special election meeting Monday morning, Georgia officials say more than three quarters of a million absentee ballots have been requested.

[RELATED: Emergency rule will help in earlier absentee ballot processing in Georgia]

To date, 762,000 absentee ballots have already been requested in Georgia. That’s three times the number of requests made in the 2018 elections, according to elections officials.

If you are planning to vote by absentee ballot in the U.S. Senate runoffs in Georgia, you can go ahead and request your ballot from the state. (Click here to request a ballot from the Secretary of State’s website)

The runoff election will take place on Jan. 5.

A record number of people voted by absentee ballot for the general election on Nov. 3 because of the ongoing pandemic. The Secretary of State’s office and individual counties worked for months to make the process easier for voters, launching an online portal to request you ballot, one to track your ballot and installing drop boxes all across north Georgia.

GEORGIA VOTER GUIDE:

• Key Dates for 2020 Runoff Elections in Georgia
• These are the 7 races that are in a runoff in Georgia
• Did you know? You can still register to vote in Georgia’s U.S. Senate runoffs

Absentee voting entails sending a mail-in ballot before Election Day. There is no difference between absentee voting and “mail-in voting” or “by-mail voting.”

In Georgia, people voting by mail do not need to provide a reason for voting absentee. Any voter is allowed to request a ballot by mail.

To register to vote by Absentee Ballot in Georgia, follow these steps:

Make Sure You’re Registered

To vote via absentee ballot, you must first be registered to vote.

Fill Out & Submit an Absentee Ballot Application

To vote by absentee ballot, you must first fill out, sign, and submit an absentee ballot application. You can do this online, by mail, by fax, or in person.

Submit your absentee ballot application by the specified deadline. Absentee ballots may be requested any time between 180 days prior to the election and the end of the business day on the Friday before Election Day. View a list of upcoming elections and registration deadlines on the Secretary of State’s election calendar.

Submit Online through Georgia’s new paperless absentee ballot request system

Submit by Mail

• Download the absentee ballot application.
• Fill out and sign the application.
• Mail the application to your County Board of Registrar’s Office.

Submit by Fax

• Download the absentee ballot application.
• Fill out and sign the application.
• Fax the application to your County Board of Registrar’s Office.

Submit in Person

• Download the absentee ballot application.
• Fill out and sign the application.
• Present the application in person to your County Board of Registrar’s Office.

Cox Media Group