Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel reminds citizens who reside in districts holding municipal or special elections on Tuesday, November 3, 2009 that they must be registered to vote by Monday, October 5, 2009 in order to participate. To register to vote in Georgia, you must be a citizen of the United States; a legal resident of Georgia and of the county in which you plan to vote; and at least 17½ years old. You may not register to vote if you are currently serving any sentence imposed by the conviction of a felony or judicially determined to be mentally incompetent. Eligible citizens who are not currently registered to vote in the county in which they reside should register to vote or update their voter registration. Georgians can verify their registration status and download an application at the Secretary of State’s website at: www.sos.ga.gov/elections Polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 3, 2009, except in the City of Atlanta where polls are open until 8:00 p.m. Municipal voters may request an absentee ballot from their absentee ballot clerk’s office until the close of business on Friday, October 30, 3009. Absentee ballots must be returned to the municipal absentee ballot clerk by the close of polls on Election Day. Special election voters can request an absentee ballot from their county registrar’s office until the close of business on Friday, October 30, 2009. Absentee ballots must be returned to the county registrar by the close of polls on Election Day. Photo identification is not required when voting by mail; however, voters must complete and sign the oath on the outer envelope containing the voted absentee ballot. To download an absentee ballot request form, go to http://www.sos.ga.gov/elections Voters will be required to show one of the following six forms of photo ID when voting in-person on Election Day: * A Georgia driver’s license, even if expired; * Any valid state or federal government issued photo ID, including a free Voter ID Card issued by your county registrar or Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS); * Valid U.S. passport; * Valid employee photo ID from any branch, department, agency, or entity of the U.S. Government, Georgia, or any county, municipality, board, authority, or other entity of this state; * Valid U.S. military photo ID; or * Valid tribal photo ID. If a voter does not have one of these forms of photo identification, he or she may obtain a free voter ID card at the county registrars’ office or a Georgia Department of Driver Services Service Center. Anyone with additional questions about Georgia’s photo ID requirement can visit http://www.gaphotoid.com or call toll free (877) 725-9797.
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