The local elections are just over a month away, and despite some rule changes introduced by Georgia’s new electoral law, Senate Bill 202, voters will have several options to cast their votes in the coming weeks.
This year, positions in Bloomingdale, Tybee Island, Thunderbolt, Port Wentworth and Garden City are on the ballot. Any voter in Chatham County will have the opportunity to make their voice heard, but for those living outside of these cities there will only be a point or two to vote on.
A ballot is the statewide ESPLOST extension, and those who live in Georgia House District 165, which encompasses most of Savannah’s eastside neighborhoods, will vote for a replacement for longtime MP Mickey Stephens, who died in August.
In addition, the smallest parish in the county, Vernonburg, will have four council seats and its mayor-like intendant position on the ballot, although the town of fewer than 200 residents does not normally hold formal elections unless the seats are contested.
More:Here’s who qualified for the Chatham County local elections, scheduled for November 2nd
The deadline to register for the November 2 election is October 4, and the early voting deadline will begin shortly thereafter.
Election 2021
Every Sunday before the November 2nd local elections, Savannah Morning News journalists preview a race or topic that is on the ballot.
September 12: Tybee Island
September 19: ESPLOST
September 26th: Bloomingdale
Today: electoral process
Recruitment of election workers
Billy Wooten, Chatham’s interim polling officer, says the training of election workers for the communities is going well, despite losing some longtime professionals who suffered from the abuse and harassment they faced in the 2020 election who refused to accept this, were discouraged from earnings.
Wooten said just over 200 election workers had been fully trained on September 22nd. He predicts the county will need 400 to 500 election workers for the parishes on November 2nd.
The district trained between 900 and 1,000 election workers for the 2020 presidential election, said Wooten.
For Wooten, this is the first choice at the top as a supervisor, but the educational aspects of the job are well known. He has been training election workers since 2015.
This cycle is different, he admits, due to the backlash some election workers faced during and after the 2020 general and runoff elections. Many have been deterred by the barbs and verbal abuse that supporters of former President Donald Trump have showered on election officials.
“People need to understand that they are the election workers; they are their neighbors, they are the people they go to church with, they are the people they have dinner with … We have a lot of people who have worked on the polls that have been here for over 30 years Electoral system have worked and they take a lot of pride in their work, ”said Wooten. “And some of the words thrown around, some of the allegations thrown around are very hurtful. It led some election officials to say, “I’m just not going to do this anymore. The public doesn’t appreciate it. ‘”
Voter turnout expectations
Turnout is expected to be low in this election, but at a time when there are more Georgians eligible to vote than ever before.
In August, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that 95% of Georgians eligible to vote are registered. This is partly due to a change in 2016 when Georgia started automatically registering voters when they applied for or renewed their driver’s license.
As of September 17, Chatham had 227,021 registered voters. The 2020 census puts the population of Chatham 18 years and older at 234,715, which means that at least 96% of those eligible to vote in Chatham are registered to vote.
However, don’t expect the Chatham election on November 2nd to get more than 200,000 votes. Usually the elections with the highest turnout are presidential and the smallest are local.
Still, despite the low turnout forecast, the Chatham Electoral Committee has a lot to do. Smaller doesn’t necessarily mean easier, said Wooten.
“It’s a smaller choice. It’s an easier choice and takes up less space in terms of machines and the number of people working on the elections, ”said Wooten. “But it is not easier. There is no easy choice, there has to be a lot of work involved, no matter what. “
More:Georgia Secretary of State defends new electoral law, shorter postal voting deadline
Postal ballot
In the last election cycle, most of the record postal votes in Georgia came from Democrats. A few months later, the state’s Republican-controlled legislature built new hurdles to casting a postal vote amid ongoing unsubstantiated fraud allegations by former President Donald Trump.
For Chatham, most of the SB 202 changes will fall on the shoulders of the Board of Registrars. BOR chairman Colin McRae says he expects fewer voters will use postal voting this time, partly because it’s a smaller election and partly because it’s harder to do now.
“In my humble experience, the main difference is that many people request ballots just before the end of the term. And many of them would otherwise have expected to be able to vote less than 11 days before election day, ”said McRae. “A lot of people wait until then, so I think that will result in a lot fewer postal ballots.”
Previously, voters had until the Friday before election day to request a postal vote, which would have been a risky maneuver. It usually takes a week or two for the postal ballot to be sent to a voter who applies for one.
According to the new law, the application deadline is two Fridays before election day or October 22 of this year.
Proponents say the update is intended to give the foreign minister’s office more time to send postal ballot papers out to voters. But the change burned the candle on either end. The law cut the time it takes to request a vote by more than half.
Previously, voters could request a postal vote 180 days before election day. Now voters can request a postal vote at the earliest 11 weeks – 78 days – from election day.
That day – August 16 – has already passed.
The decision by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to close the online voting portal for the 2021 election due to conflicts with the provider commissioned to operate the portal makes the postal voting process more difficult.
To receive a postal vote, you will need a driver’s license number or state ID number or a photocopy of an alternative voter ID.
The application form for postal voting can be completed on the computer or by hand. Voters have several options for returning the ballot application form to the Chatham County Registrar’s Office: U.S. mail, email, fax, or personal delivery.
Dropboxing
The bill included both codified and limited postal voting options, originally an emergency measure due to COVID-19.
In the presidential and senate elections starting in the 2020 cycle, Chatham had 10 outdoor postal ballot boxes in public places that were open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
This year they will have three. And they’re all in buildings in early election locations – one at Mosquito Control, one at the Islands Library, and one at the Board of Elections Office on Eisenhower Drive. None of these will be accessible outside of the early voting times.
More:League of Women Voters purchases 8 postal voting boxes for Chatham County
Early voting
Early personal voting begins October 12th and ends October 29th. The locations include Chatham County Mosquito Control at 65 Billy Hair Dr .; the Savannah Civic Center at 301 W. Oglethorpe Ave .; the Islands Library at 50 Johnny Mercer Blvd .; and Southwest Library in 14097 Abercorn St.
Early voting takes place at these locations from Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
During this time, you will also have extended opening hours in the office of the electoral committee at 1117 Eisenhower Drive, from Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
The vote on Saturday will take place on October 16 and 23 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Eisenhower Drive location
In addition, there will be a Sunday voting on October 24th in the Eisenhower Drive location from 12 noon to 5 pm
Will Peebles is the corporate reporter for Savannah Morning News. He can be reached at wpeebles@gannett.com and @willpeeblessmn on Twitter.
