A three-week opportunity for in-person early voting begins Monday, Oct. 16, in advance of the Nov. 7 city elections and will include two voting Saturdays.
In Bulloch County, Brooklet has an election that includes a liquor store referendum and a council race; Register has a race for one council seat; and Statesboro Council District 2 voters will decide between incumbent council member Paulette Chavers and challenger Lawton Sack.
But Portal’s election was canceled because all of its incumbents, including Mayor Billy Boggs, Post 2 council member Roy Johnson and Post 5 member Delina Woods, are unopposed for a new four-year term. Elections were also canceled for Statesboro’s Council District 3, where Ginny Hendley is unopposed as a new candidate for council, and District 5, where incumbent member Shari Barr is unopposed.
Early voting days and hours are 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, Oct. 16 through Nov. 3, and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on two Saturdays, Oct. 21 and Oct. 28.
Statesboro and Register
The Bulloch County Board of Elections and Registration office handles municipal elections under contract to the city of Statesboro and the town of Register. So, the one place to vote early in-person for Statesboro District 2 and Register residents is the county elections office in the County Annex, 113 N. Main St., Suite 201, Statesboro.
Register, where all resident registered voters are eligible to vote for all council seats, has one contest, between Richard Canady and Melanie Lynn Nessmith for currently vacant Council Seat 5. Seat 3 incumbent Tonya Boyd and Seat 4 incumbent Alfred L. Jones appear on the ballot unopposed.
Brooklet’s election
The same early voting days and hours will be available in Brooklet for its election. But the city of Brooklet conducts its own elections, so the place for Brooklet residents to vote early in-person is Brooklet City Hall, 104 Church St., Brooklet.
Brooklet voters will answer “yes” or “no” to the referendum question, “Shall the issuance of licenses for the package sale of distilled spirits be approved?”
That will decide whether the city government can license liquor stores in Brooklet’s city limits.
Brooklet also has a town-wide race for City Council Post 1 among candidates Seth Cannon, Melanie Garcia and Hubert Keith Roughton. That is the seat being vacated by Nicky Gwinnett, now unopposed to be Brooklet’s next mayor. Incumbent Council Member Bradley Anderson is unopposed for re-election to Post 2.
Absentee paper ballots
Absentee ballots are also available for mailing to registered voters who are residents of Bulloch County and of Brooklet, Register or Statesboro District 2. Under current state law, election officials can mail these to the address where in the voter is registered to vote in Bulloch County or to a temporary address requested outside Bulloch County from Oct. 16 until Oct. 27, and no later. But ballots will be counted if returned by the close of polls on Election Day, 7 p.m. Nov. 7.
Voters may request absentee ballots at the county elections office, or online through the state’s online absentee portal at Securemyabsenteeballot.sos.ga.gov/s/.
Photo ID is required for all forms of voting. Accepted types include a Georgia driver’s license or valid ID card with photo issued by a branch, department, agency or entity of the state of Georgia, another state; or a valid U.S. passport; or photo employee identification card issued by the U.S. government, this state, or any county, municipality board or authority, or valid U.S. military identification card or tribal identification card with photograph.
Final Election Day
Statesboro District 2 voters who wait until the traditional Election Tuesday, Nov. 7, to vote will do so in the Jones-Love Building at Luetta Moore Park, 585 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Statesboro. The precinct that previously voted at the William James Educational Complex has been permanently relocated to Luetta Moore Park, noted Bulloch County Election Supervisor Shontay Jones, and no other Statesboro precinct votes in this election.
If they vote on Nov. 7, Register voters will vote at the town’s polling place, 33 Foster Road, Register.
Brooklet’s voters who wait till Nov. 7 will vote in the traditional place, the Recreation Department’s community building at 416 N. Cromley Rd., Brooklet.
All of these polls will open 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. Nov. 7.