Sharyl started by talking about the importance of poll workers.  The average age of a poll worker is 72.  The workers are paid $165 per day and an additional $40 for a three hour training.  If you are interested in being a poll worker, you can sign up at SecureVoteGa.com. In order to vote, you must register 30 days ahead of an election.  Therefore, if you want to vote in the November 3rd election, you need to register by October 5th.  80% of registered voters comes from the DMV office.  

 

Because of COVID-19, more than half of Georgia voters are requesting absentee ballots.  They have seen a 2900% increase in absentee ballots in Chatham County alone.  One way to request an absentee ballot is to go to SecureVoteGa.com and click on the link that says "Secure my Absentee Ballot."  It will take about 30 seconds and all you need is your name, DOB, and drivers license or Georgia ID number.  When requesting an absentee ballot, you must have your signature on the application.  Sharyl also encouraged everyone to include their email and phone number in case there are questions about your application.  In Georgia, around .7% of absentee ballots are rejected because they arrive late (must be in by 7:00 PM on election day) or it is not filled out in blue or black ink which is needed for the machine to calculate the vote.  You can follow your ballot on mvp.sos.ga.gov

 

Advanced/Early voting will begin in Georgia starting on October 12 and will run through October 30.  Chatham County will also be offering weekend voting on October 17, October 18, October 24 and October 25.  You can go to any early voting site if you want to vote early.  When voting in person, you must bring a valid ID.  Sharyl encouraged everyone to vote early because lines will be long on Election Day due to COVID and social distancing.  She also recommended researching proposed amendments ahead of time.