Nearly 800,000 Georgians, or about one in nine active voters, have already requested an absentee ballot, as state officials encourage the use of early voting to minimize lines at the polls for the November election.

According to data provided by the secretary of state’s office, at least 582,000 are on a “rollover” list of voters who checked a box to receive an absentee ballot for every election in a given cycle. That designation is for voters who are over 65, are disabled are in the military or living overseas. Another 175,000 have applied for a ballot by email, fax, mail or hand-delivering an application to their local election office.

More than 41,000 Georgians have used the state’s brand-new online absentee request portal that launched recently, using a tool aimed at streamlining the request process for both overwhelmed officials and voters alike.

A record 1.1 million Georgians voted absentee by mail in the June primary, a number that the state expects to grow for the November election that could see more than 5 million cast their ballots.

Absentee ballots can be returned via mail, in person to your elections office or, if your county has one, a secure drop box.

Ballots normally must be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day, but a recent federal court ruling changed the deadline to three days after Election Day as long as it is postmarked by Tuesday, November 3.

GPB