HOUSTON COUNTY, Ga. — With concerns mounting over potential postal service delays, Central Georgia election officials are urging voters to return their absentee ballots as early as possible ahead of the general election on Nov. 5.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger emphasized the importance of early voting to ensure ballots are counted on time.
“The safest thing for voters to do is request and return their absentee ballots early,” Raffensperger said. “Don’t wait until the last minute and risk delays.”
In Houston County, Board of Elections Director Andy Holland is echoing that message. He encouraged voters to take advantage of drop boxes placed around the county to avoid mail delays altogether.
“We have multiple drop boxes available for voters, and we strongly advise them to use those to ensure their ballots are received in time,” Holland said. “The voter, as soon as they get them, they can mark the ballots and return them to us as fast as they want.”
Absentee ballots must be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 5, to be counted. With reports of postal service slowdowns, election officials across the state are recommending voters act now to avoid missing the deadline.
“We can't control the federal government and their inefficiency of the United States Postal Service,” Raffensperger said. “That's a federal issue. And Congress needs to get serious.”
In addition to drop boxes, absentee ballots can be hand-delivered to local election offices. Election officials also recommend voters check the status of their absentee ballots online after submission to confirm they’ve been received and counted.
“We've already received about 2,500-plus applications,” Holland said. “We're about halfway through packing up the ones that we got. A lot of them are from elderly and disabled voters.”
This push for early absentee voting comes amid a broader effort to ensure a smooth election process, as Georgia prepares for a closely watched general election this fall.