Georgia changed the rules related to absentee ballot applications. State and local officials are now prohibited from sending applications to voters, applications can no longer have sections pre-filled and any application sent by a nongovernmental organization must be clearly identified to indicate the application did not come from the government.
Georgia changed the timeframe during which voters can apply for an absentee ballot. In prior years, the state would begin accepting applications six months before Election Day and stop accepting them four days before Election Day. It will now start accepting applications 78 days, or about two and half months, before Election Day and stop accepting applications 10 days before Election Day.
Voters requesting an absentee ballot now need to provide their driver’s license number or the last four digits of their Social Security Number on their application.
While drop boxes are still permitted to be used for absentee ballots in Georgia, drop boxes now have to be located inside early voting locations and are only available when early voting is taking place.
In prior elections, Georgia sent absentee ballots out 45 days before the election. In 2022, the state will start sending absentee ballots out 29 days before Election Day.
Absentee voters are now required to affirm that they were not observed when voting and are required to list out the individuals who may return the ballot on their behalf.
Military and overseas voters will now use ranked-choice voting.
In 2020, local counties decided if they opened their polling places for early voting on the third Saturday before Election Day. This is now mandatory. Counties still determine if they will open for early voting on the second and third Sundays before Election Day.
Georgia now prohibits giving out anything to voters, like food or water, while they are waiting in line to vote.