While Towns County’s two major political party leaders may not agree on the preferred outcome of the 2020 elections, they absolutely agree that every vote should count. Consequently, Republican Party Chair Betsy Young and Democratic Committee Chair Charlotte Sleczkowski are takings steps to get the public educated about the electoral process to help ensure the Aug. 11 primary runoffs go smoothly.
For a smoother election process, we wish for everyone to understand the procedures,” Sleczkowski said during a recent working session between the county’s two political party chairs. Their efforts focused on lessons learned during the June 9 Republican and Democratic primaries in Georgia, with particular attention on the absentee ballot process.
Quoting the late Louis Brandeis, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, Young noted of the electoral process: “The most important office, and the one which all of us can and should fill, is that of a private citizen.”
First off, Young and Sleczkowski noted that if a registered voter did not vote in the June primary, they may still vote in the Aug 11 runoff. The August runoff is open to all registered voters.
Voter registration for the Aug. 11 runoff ended July 13 in Georgia but is open through Oct. 5 for the Nov. 3 general election. Early voting in Towns County for the Aug. 11 primary runoff began Monday, July 20, and will continue through Friday, Aug. 7, at the Towns County Board of Elections and Registration office, at 67 Lakeview Circle in Hiawassee, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. No Saturday voting for the runoff is scheduled.
Voting absentee technically is considered early voting. Both Young and Sleczkowski stressed that voting absentee is a two-step process: first, requesting an application for an absentee ballot, and second, casting the ballot.
Voters who are disabled or elderly (65 and older) and who asked to receive an absentee ballot for the remainder of the 2020 election cycle (by indicating so on their original absentee ballot application) will be sent an absentee ballot automatically for the Aug. 11 runoff and subsequent elections in the 2020 election cycle. These voters should be receiving their runoff ballots in the mail any day now. In other words, if you are elderly or disabled and requested an absentee ballot for the remainder of the 2020 election cycle, you do not need to reapply for an absentee ballot for the Aug. 11 runoff, the party leaders said.
However, for all other registered voters who desire to vote by absentee ballot in the Aug. 11 runoff, you must request an absentee ballot by contacting the Towns County Board of Elections and Registration or by obtaining an absentee ballot application online via the Georgia Secretary of State's website (www.mvp.sos.ga.gov/MVP). Absentee ballot request applications are available in the outside lobby of the county Board of Elections and Registration office. The absentee ballot application can then be returned by the voter to the local Board of Elections office either in person or by mail, facsimile (fax) or electronic transmission (email).
Because of the time needed to process the absentee ballot application, including mail delivery, Young and Sleczkowski strongly suggested that registered voters who wish to apply for an absentee ballot for the Aug. 11 runoff do so no later than Aug. 1 – or at least 10 days before the runoff, to be safe. The absentee ballot itself cannot be picked up in person at the county Board of Elections and Registration office, they noted; the ballot itself will be mailed to the voter.
One important distinction should be noted, said Young and Sleczkowski: If a voter requested an absentee ballot for the June 9 primary but did not receive one, or chose to vote in person instead, the voter will need to submit a new absentee ballot application for the Aug. 11 runoff. Again, the status of the original application can be viewed at the My Voter Page, www.mvpsosga.gov/MVP.
The second step in the absentee voting process is casting the absentee ballot. Voters can mark and cast their absentee ballot any time after receiving it, but they must be cast – that is, received at the office of the Towns County Board of Elections and Registration – no later than 7 p.m. on Aug. 11, the day of the primary runoff. Sleczkowski and Young stressed the importance of the absentee ballot being received by that time and date, NOT postmarked. Completed absentee ballots can be mailed to or hand-delivered to the drop box outside the county Board of Elections and Registration office, which is located in the same building as the Civic Center in Hiawassee. Sufficient postage is required if the ballot is mailed.
In-person voting in the Aug. 11 runoff begins at 7 a.m., with the polls closing at 7 p.m. Anyone in line at the three voting precincts – Hiawassee, Young Harris, and Macedonia – will be allowed to vote. Unlike during the June 9 primary, all three of Towns County’s voting precincts will be open on Aug. 11, according to the county Board of Elections and Registration.
One significant lesson learned from the June 9 primary, Young and Sleczkowski said, is that the oval next to the candidate’s name on the absentee ballot must be filled in completely using a black or blue pen (not pencil) – and NOT checked or marked with an X – so that it can be successfully scanned electronically. Ballots not marked appropriately may be considered invalid and not counted, they stressed.
If the absentee ballot is defaced due to error or spillage or by any other means, the voter should immediately contact the county Board of Elections and Registration to receive a replacement ballot, again allowing sufficient time for processing and mailing. However, Sleczkowski and Young noted that a replacement ballot cannot be mailed on the day prior to the runoff, which would be Aug. 10.
Voters who successfully cast absentee ballots prior to Aug. 11 do not need to – and should not – show up for in-person voting on election day. However, if a voter who applied to vote absentee did not receive a ballot, or if a voter cannot confirm via the My Voter Page that their absentee ballot was successfully cast, Young and Sleczkowski said they should go to their polling place on election day so that county election officials can resolve the ballot issue.
Because the Aug. 11 election is a party primary runoff, voters will be required to state their party preference to receive a ballot. If the voter requested a Democratic ballot in June, they must again ask for a Democratic ballot in August, and the same applies for Republican ballots. However, if the voter requested a non-partisan ballot in June, they may ask for either a Democratic or Republican ballot for the Aug. 11 runoff.
Republican voters on Aug. 11 will choose nominees for the Nov. 3 general election by voting for primary candidates for U.S. representative in the 117th Congress from the 9th Congressional District of Georgia, for state senator from the 50th District, and for Towns County sheriff. Democratic voters will choose between candidates for the 9th Congressional District only.
