New rules and mail delays could affect absentee voting in Oconee County
Harold Thompson said he wants to see how smooth the new Georgia absentee voting process is, or if it is smooth at all. Thompson, the Oconee County Democratic Committee chair, said he will be voting by mail for the first time in the November election.
That’s because Georgia’s Election Integrity Act of 2021 (S.B. 202) made some key changes to absentee ballot procedures in the state since the last presidential election.
What’s Different?
Before S.B. 202, Georgia voters could request an absentee ballot up to six days before election day, but now that deadline has moved up to at least 11 days before.
Absentee voters now must also provide their driver’s license number on their application. The old application only required a signature verification.
Thompson said the new application was “straightforward” for him, but he’s concerned it might not be as easy for others.
“My experience can’t be the same for everyone,” he said. “If you don’t have a driver’s license, for example, that whole process might feel awkward.”
Oconee County Republican Party chair Katherine Hurley said that she believes the driver’s license verification is the best way to check an absentee voter’s identity.
“My signature when I signed up to vote, I know, is very different from the way I sign my name now,” Hurley said. “If that was all they were matching against, you’re asking somebody to basically check handwriting.”
What to know if you plan to vote absentee
Absentee ballots will begin to be mailed on Oct. 7. The last day to apply for an absentee ballot is Oct. 25.
The Oconee County board of elections & Voter Registration office must receive your ballot by 7 p.m. ET on Nov. 5 for it to be counted.
Ballots can be submitted by mail or in person to the Elections office at the Oconee County Administrative building. Additional instructions are available on the board of elections’ website.
Despite the changes to absentee ballot procedures, Oconee County board of elections chairman Jay Hanley said the board has not had concerns in its monthly meetings.
He said the Georgia Secretary of State’s office has done a good job of keeping elections staff up to date with training sessions throughout the year.
How does Oconee vote?
In 2020, 43% of voters nationwide voted absentee by mail, according to U.S. Census data. In Oconee County, 22.9% of votes in 2020 were by absentee ballot, according to the 2020 election summary report.
David Cottrell, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Georgia expects the number of absentee voters to decrease this year.
“Absentee ballots were used a lot in the pandemic,” Cottrell said. “So you would expect absentee ballot voting to go down, and moreover, there’s three weeks of early voting, and so people may prefer to vote in person, and there’s a lot of opportunity to do that.”
63% of Oconee County voters voted early in-person in November 2020.
“My personal recommendation is, if you're physically able to, come in and vote early," Hurley said. “I'm generally the first one in line during early voting. I just like to do that, and you know, the staff can handle that faster than they can do it at the precincts.”
The board of elections has received 728 applications for absentee ballots so far, which makes up 2.2% of all registered voters in the county.
Ongoing Mail Delays
For those who choose to vote by mail, postal delays could be an issue.
Slow mail processing continues to affect on-time delivery in Georgia. First-class mail has a 74.12% on-time delivery rate this year, down from 89.86% this time last year, according to U.S. Postal Service performance data.
Hanley said the board has had concerns over possible mail delays in Georgia disrupting the delivery of absentee ballots. He said he personally recommends that absentee voters in the county return their ballots by hand to avoid delays.
“Vote it as soon as you get it, if possible, and return it as soon as possible,” Hanley said. “The voter can return it in person here at the elections office, and I would certainly recommend that if they’re here locally, just to make sure that it does get here on time.”
Board of elections director Sharon Gregg said there was an arrangement to deliver absentee ballots locally to the Watkinsville post office for the primary election back in May.
“If they’re local, they don’t go through the process of going out to the big facilities like Palmetto,” Gregg said. “We do have something worked out to try to keep them from going into those facilities.”
