Where do I vote? Polling places, mail-in voting tips and dates for Middle GA election
The 2020 presidential election is less than six weeks away, and the deadline to register to vote is approaching for Middle Georgia voters.
Macon-Bibb County has held two elections during the coronavirus pandemic, and the third election here and the presidential election nationwide will be held on Nov. 3.
Because Macon has seen a large turnout in the general election in June and in the runoff election in August, Bibb Board of Elections Chair Mike Kaplan said he expects a large turnout for the November election.
“I still anticipate a pretty big crowd in spite of the number of absentee ballots, so I would hope people would understand that we’re still practicing social distancing, we’re still only allowed to let a certain number of people in the building at one time, so if you vote, be prepared to wait,” Kaplan said.
Although Kaplan said people shouldn’t have to wait for hours and hours, he said the Board of Elections is still following guidelines to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus, such as wiping down the machines between each use, which causes the process to slow down.
“We want to make sure we have the most transparent, fair election you could possibly have, where everybody gets a chance to vote and nobody is denied the right to vote,” he said. “It’s a sacred privilege we have to vote, and we want to honor that privilege.”
Here’s everything you need to know to vote in Middle Georgia in the November election
Dates and deadlines
Voter registration deadline: Oct. 5
Deadline to request an absentee ballot: Oct. 30
Early in-person voting dates Monday through Friday: Oct. 12-30
Saturday early in-person voting: Oct. 24
Absentee ballots
People should request their absentee ballot as soon as possible, Kaplan said.
The Georgia Secretary of State’s office created a website at which people can request their absentee ballot. Go to ballotrequest.sos.ga.gov, click “Request Absentee Ballot,” and fill out the information.
People can also fill out an absentee ballot application and send it to their Board of Elections office. For Macon-Bibb County, people can email the form to absentee@maconbibb.us.
After receiving an absentee ballot, the post office is asking people to give them at least seven days before the election to send it back to the Board of Elections office.
Voters can also hand deliver their absentee ballots to the Board of Elections office.
Macon-Bibb County currently has one dropbox for absentee ballots outside of the Board of Elections office. Once the other dropbox arrives, it will be placed outside of the Bibb County Courthouse, Kaplan said.
The Georgia Secretary of State’s office also has a website where people can check the status of their absentee ballots and access their voter information at mvp.sos.ga.gov.
Early in-person voting
Macon-Bibb County will have three early voting locations for the November election: the Board of Elections office, the Elaine H. Lucas Senior Center and the Theron Ussery Recreation Center.
Although people are assigned a specific voting precinct for Election Day, they are allowed to vote at any of the early voting locations.
All early voting locations will be open for voting 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday-Friday and from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. for Saturday early voting.
The addresses for each location are below:
Board of Elections, 2525 Pio Nono Ave.
Elaine H. Lucas Senior Center, 132 Willie Smokie Glover Drive
Theron Ussery Recreation Center, 815 North Macon Park Drive
Macon voting precincts
To find out which precinct you should go to on Election Day, check your voter registration card or login at mvp.sos.ga.gov.
East Macon
River Edge Behavioral Center, 175 Emery Highway
St. Matthew Baptist Church, 1211 Shurling Drive
Northeast Magnet High School, 1646 Upper River Road
New Griswoldville Baptist Church, 3003 Truitt Place
Swift Creek Baptist Church, 4354 Jeffersonville Road
Godfrey
Dr. Robert J. Williams Complex at Ballard Hudson, 1780 Anthony Road
Beulah Baptist Church, 1536 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Beulahland Bible Church, 1010 Newberg Ave.
Bruce Elementary School, 3660 Houston Ave.
Harvest Cathedral, 2254 Rocky Creek Road
Hazzard
Covenant Life Cathedral, 4543 Bloomfield Road
Lake Wildwood Clubhouse, 100 Clubhouse Road
Middle Georgia State University, 100 University Drive
New Heights Church, 158 Lamar Road
Howard
Northway Church, 5915 Zebulon Road
Howard Community Club, 5645 Forsyth Road
Turning Point at Mabel White Baptist Church, 1415 Bass Road
Macon Wimbish Road Seventh-Day Adventist Church, 640 Wimbish Road
Forest Hills Methodist Church, 1217 Forest Hill Road
St. Francis Episcopal Church, 432 Forest Hill Road
Northside Christian Church, 5024 Northside Drive
Rutland
Mikado Baptist Church, 6751 Houston Road
Porterfield Baptist Church, 2910 Allen Road
Vineville
Professional Learning Center, 2003 Riverside Drive
First Christian Church, 2306 Vineville Ave.
Glorious Hope Baptist Church, 3805 Napier Ave.
Greater Bellevue Baptist Church, 4041 Mumford Road
Northminster Presbyterian Church, 565 Wimbish Road
Lutheran Church of The Redeemer, 390 Pierce Ave.
Warrior
Lizella Baptist Church, 2950 S. Lizella Road
Macon Evangelistic Church, 5399 Hartley Bridge Road
Middle Georgia Board of Elections offices and contact information
Macon-Bibb Board of Elections, 2525 Pio Nono Ave., Suite 1200, (478) 621-6622
Houston Board of Elections, 801 Main Street, Room 237, Perry, (478) 987-1973
Peach Board of Elections, 205 West Church St., Suite 102, Fort Valley, (478) 825-3514
Crawford Board of Elections, 640 Georgia Highway 128, Roberta, (478) 836-1877
Monroe Board of Elections, 38 West Main Street, Forsyth, (478) 994-7622
Jones Board of Elections, 166 Industrial Blvd., #102, Gray, (478) 986-3222
Twiggs Board of Elections, 425 North Railroad St., Jeffersonville, (478) 945-3639
All election offices can be found at elections.sos.ga.gov/Elections/countyelectionoffices.do.
This story was originally published September 28, 2020 at 5:00 AM.