After three days of advance voting, 119 have cast a ballot in person. The Chattooga County Registrars Office has also accepted 10 absentee by mail ballots out of a total of 27 issued.

Absentee by Mail Ballot applications are valid for either one election or one election cycle. Voters may opt in to receive ballots for the remainder of the election cycle, but that application is only valid for that cycle. This is the first election of the 2024 election cycle. Even if someone has voted absentee by mail in the past, they must still make a new request. Following the rules established in OCGA 21-2-381, our office is not permitted to mail a blank request form to anyone who has not requested the application. The request must be made in writing on the application provided by the Secretary of State’s Office. Applications must be received at least 11 days prior to Election Day so the submission deadline for the Presidential Preference Primary is March 1, 2024.

The Chattooga County Registrars Office also wants to remind voters that campaign activity is prohibited within polling locations, within 25 feet of any voter in line, and within 150 feet of any polling location. The code defines campaign material as “any newspaper, booklet, pamphlet, card, sign, paraphernalia, or any other written or printed matter referring to a candidate whose name appears on the ballot in a primary or election, a referendum which appears on the ballot in a primary or election, or a political party or body which has a nominee or nominees on the ballot in a primary or election. Campaign material shall not include any written or printed matter that is used exclusively for the personal and private reference of an individual elector during the course of voting.” (OCGA 21-2-414 and OCGA 21-2-2(3.1))