How to Vote

Where to vote

Each voter must vote at the polling place designated for the precinct in which the voter lives. If you are in doubt as to the location of your polling place, you should contact the Board of Registrars of your county. For Laurens County, the number is (478) 272-2841.

Identification required

A. After January 1, 1998, each elector is required to present identification at their polling place prior to casting his or her ballot.

Proper identification shall consist of any one of the following:

(1) a valid Georgia driver's license;

(2) a valid identification card issued by a branch, department, agency, or entity of the State of Georgia, any other state, or the United States authorized by law to issue personal identification;

(3) a valid United States passport;

(4) a valid employee identification card containing a photograph of the elector and issued by any branch, department, agency, or entity of the United States government, this state, or any county, municipality, board, authority, or other entity of this state;

(5) a valid employee identification card containing a photograph of the elector and issued by any employer of the elector in the ordinary course of such employer's business;

(6) a valid student identification card containing a photograph of the elector from any public or private college, university, or postgraduate technical or professional school located within the state of Georgia;

(7) a valid Georgia hunting or fishing license;

(8) a valid Georgia license to carry a pistol or revolver;

(9) a valid pilot's license issued by the Federal Aviation Administration or other authorized agency of the United States;

(10) a valid United States military identification card;

(11) a certified copy of the elector's birth certificate;

(12) a valid social security card;

(13) certified naturalization documentation;

(14) or a certified copy of court records showing adoption, name, or sex change.

NOTE: The "precinct card" you receive to confirm your voter registration and voting location is NOT a form of identification, and it will not be sufficient identification to vote.

What happens if I do not have any identification with me at the polling place?

If an elector is unable to produce any of the required identification, the elector shall sign a statement under oath in a form approved by the Secretary of State, separate and distinct from the elector's voter certificate, swearing or affirming that he or she is the person identified on the elector's voter certificate. Such person shall be allowed to vote without undue delay. Falsely swearing or affirming such statement under oath shall be punishable as a felony.

How to vote

Go to your polling place between 7:00 AM and 7:00 PM on election day. When you arrive at your polling place, you will complete a voter's certificate which asks for your name and residence address. You will then present this, along with your ID, to the poll officers who will verify that you are a registered voter in that precinct by checking the voters list for that precinct. If your name is found on the list, you will be issued a ballot or admitted into a voting machine to cast your vote.

Although the hours of voting end at 7:00 PM, if you are in line to vote at that time, you will be allowed to vote.

How to cast your vote

Instructions on how to operate a voting machine are posted at each polling place. In addition, you may ask the poll officers to explain how to operate the voting machine.

Receiving assistance

If you need assistance in voting due to your inability to read or because of some physical disability which prevents you from reading or marking your ballot, you may ask someone to assist you in voting. Anyone who is entitled to receive assistance in voting shall be permitted to select any elector, except a poll officer or poll watcher, who is a resident of the precinct in which the elector requiring assistance is attempting to vote or the mother, father, sister, brother, spouse, or child of the elector entitled to receive assistance. No person shall assist more than ten such electors in any election.