Friday, July 19, 2002
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Friday, July 19, 2002 |
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Voter registration deadline is Monday Monday is the final day Georgians can register to vote in the Aug. 20 general primary, the Secretary of State's office announced this week. Eligible Georgia citizens who have not yet registered may do so in a variety of convenient ways. State drivers license facilities, county and municipal voter registration offices, WIC and DFACS offices and public libraries have voter registration applications available. On the Web, Georgians may download and print an application, or complete their application using an electronic template, on the Secretary of State's Web site at www.sos.state.ga.us/elections. Forms accessed via the Internet must be printed, signed and mailed to the Secretary of State, and all applications must be postmarked no later than July 22. As of July 1, some 3,535,502 Georgians were on the active voter list. That is a modest decline from four years ago, when about 3.8 million were on the active voter roll at the time of the general primary. The reduction is mostly due to list maintenance efforts that insure accurate names and addresses on the statewide database. "In the months since last September it's been exciting to see a rising tide of patriotism throughout America. Yet there are still hundreds of thousands of eligible Georgians who have not taken time to register to vote," said Secretary of State Cathy Cox. "There's simply no better way to demonstrate our love of country and commitment to its ideals than by participating in the electoral process. I hope all those who are not yet registered, especially newly eligible young people and those who have recently moved to Georgia, will act right away to get registered in time for the Aug. 20 primary election." Cox noted that in Georgia, citizens do not register by party affiliation and may choose which party's primary to participate in on election day. Registered voters who are 75 or older, disabled, who will be out of their precinct from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on election day, or who meet other statutory requirements may submit an application for an absentee ballot to their county voter registrar. Absentee ballot applications are also available on the Secretary of State's Web site, or a voter may simply mail or fax a letter to their county voter registrar requesting an absentee ballot. The letter should include name, address, date of birth, the address to which the ballot is to be mailed, the election for which the ballot is requested, and the reason for requesting the ballot.
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