Albany area election officials prepare for start of early voting on Tuesday

ALBANY – For some people, nothing beats the experience of walking into their polling place on Election Day and casting a ballot.

Others prefer to get the process out of the way ahead of time, either in person or by mail, or have schedules that make it difficult to get to the voting booth on the big day.

“We think people are very excited in this (Nov. 3) election,” Lee County Election Supervisor Veronica Johnson said. “We’ve received a lot of absentee-by-mail applications. We’re getting a lot of phone calls about that, and we’ve received phone calls about when early voting starts.”

For voters statewide, the early in-person voting period runs weekdays Oct. 13-30. In addition, two mandated Saturday voting opportunities fall on Oct. 17 and Oct. 24. 

There is no voting held on the Monday prior to the election. Voters can find hours of operation for early voting precincts and other information in their county by visiting the Georgia Secretary of State’s My Voter Page at https://mvp.sos.ga.gov/s/.

Local elections offices also may provide additional convenience for voters by holding special events or extended hours.

In Dougherty County, all early voting will be conducted at the Albany Civic Center. Voting hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on both weekdays and for the two Saturdays. On Sunday Oct. 25, polls will be open from 1 p.m.-5 p.m.

In addition, voting hours will be extended to 7 p.m. on two Thursdays: Oct. 22 and Oct. 29.

In Lee County, the voting office in Leesburg at 100 Starksville Ave. N. will be open for voting from 8:15 a.m.-5 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on the Saturday voting days.

Pop-up voting opportunities in Lee County will be held from 2-7 p.m. on Oct. 19 and Oct. 20 at the Bindery, 445 Oakland Parkway, and the same hours on Oct. 21 and Oct. 22 at the Redbone Fire Station at 1286 Graves Springs Road.

“Most of the voting population of Lee County is south of Leesburg, so we do two days on the east side and two days on the south side,” Johnson said. “We’ve had a lot of success doing that. It’s just another opportunity for people to go vote after school pick-up or after work. That’s what we’ve done the last several years. The citizens are very supportive of it.”

In addition to convenience, early voters can help reduce lines on Election Day. Whatever method voters choose, Johnson said, the office will be ready to handle the number of voters who turn out. 

The county has about 25,000 registered voters.

“The more people we have that vote early, the smoother Election Day goes,” Johnson said. “It’s just a win-win for us, not only the voters. Lee County continues to grow. We have several subdivisions being developed right now, so our voter rolls continue to increase.”

Voters also can make the voting experience easier by visiting the My Voter Page and examining the candidates. Those documents can be printed, and voters can make selections before going to the booth.

“I encourage everybody to go to the My Voter Page and download a sample ballot and decide who they want to vote for,” Johnson said. “They can print them out and bring that with them so they have a ‘cheat sheet’ when they vote.”

In Dougherty County, where there are nearly 66,663 registered voters, the election crew is ready, Election Supervisor Ginger Nickerson said. Sixteen voting machines will be available, and 23 workers are scheduled to be on hand at the early voting precinct.

“We welcome them to come out,” Nickerson said. “We know that, generally, most elections people wait until the last week and lines are heavier.

“To me, it doesn’t really matter how they show up. I just want them to show up. We have staff, and we are ready. It will be the same on Election Day; the precincts will be fully staffed.”