YOUR VOTE: Coastal Georgia 2024 election guide

How do you check your voter registration status in Georgia? You can check your voter registration status at www.mvp.sos.ga.gov. 

Not sure if you’re already registered? Check your registration on the GA My Voter Page where you can also: 

• Find out where you can vote. 
• Make changes to your registration by submitting a new voter registration application. 
• Register to vote if you’re not already registered. 

Who should check their registration status: Everyone can benefit from checking their registration status ahead of the voter registration deadline. But you will especially want to check your registration if you’ve recently changed your legal name, moved or haven’t voted in the last three years. 

The voter registration for the General Election was Oct. 7, 2024.

November 5: General Election in Georgia and the entire United States 

Early voting: Oct. 15 to Nov. 1.

Why it matters: The November General Election gives voters a chance to cast their ballots in the U.S. presidential election as well as in statewide races, like races for positions in the U.S. Congress. 

In Georgia, races in the General Election also include local partisan, contested offices like the sheriff, board of education, tax commissioner, county commission posts and more. 

Voter registration deadline in Georgia: The voter registration for the General Election was Oct. 7, 2024.

The U.S. presidential election and statewide races, including the race for Georgia’s 1st District in U.S. Congress, will take place on Nov. 5. 

Races in Georgia’s General Election are held on the same day, which include contested offices like sheriff, board of education, tax commissioner, county commission posts and more. These races can have a key impact on the daily lives of Georgians throughout the state. 

You can find a list of contested and uncontested races here. 

A contested race means that more than one candidate is running for the position. The candidate who gets the most votes is the winner.

An uncontested race means that only one candidate is running, automatically making that candidate the winner.

You can view a sample ballot for your registration at this link: www.mvp.sos.ga.gov. 

It will ask you to give your address and birth date to verify you are a registered voter, and then you can get a ballot specific to your precinct.

You must bring your government-issued photo ID to the polls in order to vote. The types of ID acceptable for in-person voting are: 

• A government-issued photo ID 
• A Georgia driver’s license, including an expired license 
• Student ID from a Georgia public college or university 
• Valid employee ID if you’re a government worker 
• U.S. passport 
• U.S. military ID 
• Tribal photo ID 

The State of Georgia can issue you a free voter ID card if you do not have one of the above forms of acceptable forms of ID. 

You can also bring a sample ballot with you. Your sample ballot allows you to plan ahead and know exactly what to expect on the ballot. Request your sample ballot here. 

Voter registration deadline in Georgia: The voter registration for the General Election was Oct. 7, 2024.

Check this link – we’ll update it regularly.

Early voting begins Oct. 15, 2024. For information specific to your county, here are links for county sites, specific times and places, as well as dropbox locations for absentee ballots:

Bryan County

Bulloch County

Camden County

Chatham County

Effingham County

Glynn County

Liberty County: No early voting information listed at this time. Call for information 912-876-3310. Board office: 100 N. Main St., Suite 1600, Hinesville

Long County: No early voting schedule listed at this time. Call 912-545-2234. Board office: 75 W. Academy St., Ludowici Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

McIntosh County: Call  (912) 437-6605 for more information. McIntosh County Board of Elections and Registration Office, 103 Jefferson St., Darien (across from Darien Post Office) 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday

More information available at:

Secretary of State’s Office

District Attorney: A district attorney prosecutes crimes committed in the area where you live. From the moment a local police officer arrests someone for an alleged crime, it becomes the DA’s job to shepherd the case through the court process. Responsibilities for the lawyers who work under the DA include checking the evidence police gathered; presenting accusations to a grand jury for an indictment; arguing whether a person accused of a crime should remain in jail or go free; taking the case to trial, working out a plea deal or dismissing the charges; providing recommendations for consequences if somebody is convicted and sentenced; and handling any appeals. 

Sheriff: At their core, sheriffs in Georgia are the law enforcement arm of the courts and oversee jails. Their base responsibilities include delivering court summons or subpoenas; executing warrants; providing security for courthouses and election proceedings; keeping a registry of convicted sex offenders in the county; recording sales, handling evictions, seizing property by order of the court; and taking care of people incarcerated in jail before their cases are adjudicated and transporting them to and from court. How big of a role they play in enforcing the law (citations, arrests, investigations) depends on a county’s size. Bigger counties have more municipalities, which often have their own police departments with police chiefs who are hired. No matter what, every county has a sheriff who is elected by voters and for smaller counties, that means they are often empowered as the chief law enforcers, too. 

Judges: Judges are some of the most powerful local elected officials and have a large impact in how justice is administered in your home county. They are instructed to follow the laws of the local cities, counties and the Georgia Constitution. There are various levels with specific roles.

Superior Court Judges: Judges in Superior Court handle felony crime cases and complex court proceedings. These include adoptions; legitimation (authorizing fathers’ custody rights for children born out of wedlock); child custody disagreements; appeals of zoning decisions, liquor licenses, tax assessments, denied unemployment benefits; habeas corpus requests (people in jail demanding legal justification for their detention); deciding whether people accused of serious crimes stay in jail or go free; reviewing invasive police warrants, like wiretapping or “geofencing” phones; appointing juvenile court judges; and overseeing felony criminal trials.

Magistrate: Judges in Magistrate Court handle small claims and some minor crimes — like deposit account fraud, violations of county ordinances, and local traffic and small possession of marijuana crimes (in some municipalities, that is performed by a municipal judge). The most important function magistrate judges perform is approving warrants written by police officers to search the homes and property of alleged law breakers and arrest them, if probable cause of a crime exists. They also issue summonses for court, initiate evictions, and handle civil claims below $15,000. 

County Commissioners: This powerful board is composed of one representative for each district in the county and headed by a chairperson, who serves as the county’s chief executive officer. County commissioners have the power to nominate and appoint other county residents and business owners to various county boards (except the school board, which is a separate entity). Each commissioner represents the people and businesses in their district.

School Board: This county board sets policy for the school district. Members represent specific districts and /or serve countywide as at-large members. Counties may elect them in partisan or nonpartisan elections.

Georgia Public Service Commission: The Georgia Public Service Commission, or PSC, is a five-member elected panel whose jobs include setting the rates you are charged by regulated utilities like Georgia Power. They also decide what mix of renewables and planet-warming fossil fuels Georgia Power will use to generate electricity. Members, or commissioners, serve staggered six-year terms. They are elected statewide but are required to live in their home district, a system under challenge from voting rights advocates. The PSC elections are on hold until 2025, though sitting commissioners whose terms have expired continue to vote on rate increases and other issues. 

Tax assessor vs. tax commissioner: A county tax assessor maps and calculates the value of each property in the county. Each year, based on that information, the county Board of Tax Assessors recommends how much tax the county needs to collect to balance its budget. The Board of Commissioners votes on whether to impose that amount or a different one. City councils also may use county tax data about their city to impose municipal taxes. The county tax commissioner collects the taxes. The tax commissioner also takes applications for homestead exemptions.

Other notes

Millage/mil rate: This is a term for how property is taxed. A mil is $1 for every $1,000 of a property’s assessed value. Local governments (city or county) charge taxes on 40% of a home’s assessed value. If the tax assessor says a house is worth $100,000 for tax purposes, only $40,000 of that is taxed. If the millage rate is one mil, then the homeowner would pay $40 tax. These rates are often decided by boards of commissioners, school boards or city councils.

Homestead exemption: A Georgia tax break that a homeowner can claim on their permanent residence for as long as they own and live in that house.

Board of Tax Assessors: Panel appointed by county boards of commissioners to hear and decide upon county tax matters. While they are not elected, the board members who appoint them are.

• Here’s a link to stories, forums and other info about candidates from media across Coastal Georgia. We’ll update it regularly.

To gather background on current legislators or Congress, here are places you can go to look at voting records and sponsored legislation for incumbents.

• U.S. Rep. Earl L. “Buddy” Carter
• For Georgia legislators: https://legis.ga.gov

For challengers, you’ll need to follow local news organizations to read backgrounds and coverage, and attend public meets. We’ll link recordings of forums, stories and other pieces as they are published.

Remember, many elections for the year are decided in the May 21 primary.

Open Secrets – a database reporting on funding for candidates, data, lobbyists, PACS and donors.

Before requesting an absentee ballot, you’ll need to register to vote following the steps we outlined above. After confirming your registration status, you can apply for an absentee ballot here. Any registered voter can request an absentee ballot. 

Request your absentee ballot sooner rather than later. The last day to request an absentee ballot is Oct. 25.

Deadline for turning in your absentee ballot: You will need to deliver your absentee ballot to your local polling location anytime between when early voting starts up until 7 p.m. on Election Day. 

Ballot drop boxes are only open during the business hours of early voting. There can only be a certain number of ballot drop boxes per county, and they must be located inside the polling location. 

You can also send in your ballot via first class mail. 

To track the status of your absentee ballot, follow the instructions here.

To request an absentee ballot, go to ballotrequest.sos.ga.gov. To track the status of your absentee ballot, follow the instructions here.

In order to win a state election in Georgia, the winning candidate needs to receive one vote more than 50% of the vote. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, then the top two candidates will compete in a runoff election. 

Can you register to vote in a runoff if you weren’t registered for the local election that led to the runoff?:

No. If you registered for the General election, you can vote but there is no special registration for a local runoff in Georgia.

If there is a federal runoff (NOT POSSIBLE in 2024 for Georgia), the registration date would be 30 days before the runoff date.

Dec. 3, 2024: General Runoff for local offices

Just like the General Primary and nonpartisan election, a general runoff for local offices will be held if no candidates in a given race receive more than 50% of the vote. 

See appearances and forums list for access to candidates.

July 15-18: Republican National Convention in Milwaukee

Aug. 19-22: Democratic National Convention in Chicago

October 7: Registration deadline for General Election 

October 25: Deadline to request your absentee ballot 

Nov. 5: General Election

Dec. 3: General Runoff for federal offices

Click here for full lists in Coastal Georgia

Presidential Preference Primary: The presidential preference primary gives voters a chance to choose which candidate they want to be the presidential nominee for the Democrat or Republican party. Although Georgia has an open primary, meaning voters do not have to declare a specific party affiliation in order to vote, voters must choose to vote in either the Democratic or Republican presidential preference primary. 

Open Primary: Some states require voters to declare a party affiliation, either Democrat or Republican, in order to participate in the presidential primary. Georgia is an open primary state, meaning voters do not have to declare a party affiliation in order to vote in the primary. They do, however, have to choose to either vote in the Republican or Democrat presidential preference primary. 

General Primary: The General Primary determines who’s on the ballot in statewide races for the November general election. Races in Georgia’s General Primary include your representatives in U.S. Congress. So if you want to have a say in who represents you in Washington, you will want to vote in the General Primary. Georgia’s general primary is on May 21. You can find a list of candidates here. 

Nonpartisan election: Georgia’s nonpartisan election gives voters a chance to cast their ballots for local judges, school boards and other local and county-wide races. You can find a list of candidates for Georgia’s May 21 nonpartisan elections here. 

General election: The November General Election gives voters a chance to cast their ballots in the presidential election as well as in statewide races, like races for positions in the U.S. Congress. Races in the General Election also include local offices like the sheriff, board of education, tax commissioner, county commission posts and more. 

Runoff Election: In order to win a statewide election in Georgia, the winning candidate needs to receive more than 50% of the vote. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, then the top two candidates will compete in a runoff election. 

Candidate qualifying: Candidate qualifying week is the deadline for candidates to submit their intent to run in local and state elections. This year, candidate qualifying ended on Mar. 9, 2024. You can see the list of Coastal Georgia candidates by county here. 

Secretary of State: Georgia’s Secretary of State is an elected official whose office holds a number of responsibilities, including overseeing voting and elections in the state. Voter registration is handled through the Secretary of State’s office. Ben Raffensperger is the current Secretary of State. 

Absentee ballot/Absentee voting: An absentee ballot gives you a chance to cast your vote without going to your polling location in person during early voting or on election day. You will need to apply for an absentee ballot. You can submit your application (found here) by mail, email, fax or in-person at your local mailto:elections@libertycountyga.comelections or registrar’s office. 

Active voter: An active voter is somehow who has interacted with the elections system, either by voting, contacting an election official, applying for an absentee ballot, signing a petition or updating their voter registration, within the last five years. Lawmakers have designated “active voters” from “inactive voters” in an effort to purge voters from the voter rolls. 

Registered voter: A registered voter meets the qualifications to vote and is listed in the voter rolls. 

Inactive voter: An inactive voter is registered to vote but has not interacted with the election system within the last five years, either by voting in the last two federal elections, updating their voter registration or contacting an election official. Lawmakers have designated “active voters” from “inactive voters” in an effort to purge voters from the voter rolls. 

Ineligible voter: An ineligible voter does not meet the required criteria to be able to register to vote. You can find the required criteria below under “Voter registration.” 

Early voting: Early voting gives Georgia voters a chance to cast their vote ahead of Election Day. Early voting starts three weeks before Election Day. You can participate in early voting at your local precinct/polling location. 

Precinct: A voting precinct, or polling location, is where you go to cast your vote. You can find your polling location on your voter registration card, which is mailed to you when your voter registration application is approved, or on the Secretary of State website.  

Registration for the Nov. 5, 2024, election is now closed.

How to register for the next election: You can register to vote online or by mail. In order to register, you must: 

• Be a U.S. citizen 
• Be a legal resident of the country 
• Be at least 17 ½ years-old when you register and 18-years-old to vote
• Not be serving a felony sentence
• Not have been ruled mentally incompetent by a judge 

To register online, you must have either: 

• A valid driver’s license 
• An ID from the Georgia Department of Driver Services 

How long it takes to register: If you have all of your documents and information ready, registration should take no longer than 10 minutes. 
How long it takes to get approved: Your application must be approved in order to vote. Once approved, you will receive a voter precinct card in the mail, usually two to four weeks after sending in your voter registration application.