Asked and Answered: Voting in Georgia’s runoff election

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - As state and county election officials sort out the hand-count audit, one thing voters can expect is there will be a runoff election on Jan. 5.

That now includes a statewide race for the Public Utility Commission and a federal election - the two U.S. Senate seats in Georgia.

Colin McRae, the chairman of the Chatham County Board of Registrar, was asked some of your top questions.

What if I didn’t vote in the general election, but I want to vote in the runoff election, can I?

Yes, if you’re registered to vote.

“If you have any concern about whether you’re registered to vote, you can go to the MVP Page. Which will give you an updated profile for your voter page. It tells you whether you’re registered, where you’re assigned to vote. If you don’t see you are registration there, call the board of registrar - they can confirm if you are,” McRae said. Resister online at https://www.mvp.sos.ga.gov/MVP/mvp.do or call the Chatham County Board of Registrarat 912-790-1520. The deadline to register is Dec. 7.

Can I vote by absentee ballot? Yes, he said, but you need to request one.

“You have to do a separate request for each election whether it be the election in November or the runoff in January 2021. The exception to that is those who are elderly and disabled who have requested an absentee ballot previously in this election cycle, meaning 2020 and checked the box that they want to receive an absentee ballot going forward,” McRae said.

The deadline to request an absentee ballot is Jan. 1. You can make the request online at https://ballotrequest.sos.ga.gov/. Once you receive your ballot, you can mail it or drop off in Chatham County at a secure drop-off box. You ballot must arrive by 7 p.m. on Jan 5 to count. What if I requested an absentee ballot and I haven’t received it?

“Absolutely. If you have not received it, you can cancel that ballot and you can vote in person. If you do it early enough, you can actually cancel the ballot and request a new ballot. but if you’re getting down to the wire and you don’t want to rely on the postal service getting it to you, you can cancel that and vote in person,” McRae said.

Early voting begins on Dec. 14 and will last three weeks.

Runoff election day is Jan 5.

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