The Absentee Window Opens Monday
August 17 is the first day a Georgia voter can request a mail ballot for the November election. The last day is October 23. Almost nobody uses the ten weeks in between.
On Monday, August 17, Georgia opens the window to request an absentee ballot for the November 3 general election. It closes October 23.
That is ten weeks. The state gives you ten weeks because the process has four separate steps that each take time in the mail, and every one of them can go wrong at the end and not at the beginning.
What the window actually is
Georgia law lets a voter request a mail ballot no earlier than 78 days before an election and no later than 11 days before it. For November 3, that is August 17 through October 23.
You do not need a reason. Georgia has had no-excuse absentee voting for years, and it applies whether or not you plan to be anywhere near your county on Election Day.
The request has to be made every election. A ballot request from the May primary did nothing for November.
What you need in front of you
The application asks for identification, and it takes one of four things: your Georgia driver's license number, your state ID number, the last four digits of your Social Security number, or a photocopy of an acceptable photo ID.
The first three are a number you type. The fourth is a copy you have to physically include. If you do not have a license or a state ID, plan for the copy before you sit down to fill out the form, not after.
The dates that follow
County registrars may begin mailing requested ballots on October 5. The Secretary of State's office advises that it can take up to two weeks to receive one after the county sends it.
Then it has to come back. The completed, signed ballot must be received by your county registrar by 7 p.m. on Election Day. The state recommends allowing another two weeks for return mail.
Add those together and the arithmetic argues for itself. A request filed in late October is a request racing the calendar. A request filed in August is a request with slack in it.
Where to do it
Requests go through the Secretary of State's online portal, or by mail, email, fax, or in person to your county registrar. Whichever route you take, you can watch the ballot move on your My Voter Page at mvp.sos.ga.gov — whether the county received your application, when the ballot was mailed, and whether your voted ballot came back.
If you miss October 23, nothing is lost. You can still vote early in person, or on Election Day at your assigned precinct.
Dates and rules here come from the Georgia Secretary of State and georgia.gov. Deadlines can change. Confirm anything you are relying on at mvp.sos.ga.gov or with your county Board of Registrars before you act on it.