Northwest Georgia counties have lost more than 10,000 registered voters since the last presidential election, and the statewide total has grown by just 6,517 people.

Oct. 9 is the deadline to register for anyone planning to vote in the Nov. 6 election. Absentee ballots are already in the mail and early in-person voting begins Oct. 15.

A total of 226,560 voters were Chattooga, Floyd, Bartow Polk, Gordon, Walker, Catoosa and Dade counties as of Sept. 1, according to Georgia secretary of state records. That’s 10,209 fewer than the 236,769 who registered for the 2008 election.

Georgia has 5,205,488 people on its rolls, compared to 5,198,971 registered, eligible voters four years ago.

Anyone who voted in the July 31 primary is good to go, but if you didn't cast a ballot in the 2008 or 2010 elections you might want to check your status. If you're registered but changed your address, you need to update that in order to get the correct ballot. A name-change also must be registered, since a picture ID is required to vote.

Chattooga has 11,727 registered voters, down from 12,376. Turnout was 68 percent in 2008.

In other nearby counties:

— Floyd 46,885 registered voters shrank to 45,911 by this year.

— Walker has 32,447 registered voters, down from 35,971. Turnout was 66 percent in 2008.