The Bulloch County Courthouse has been much busier than usual lately as nearly 600 people cast their ballot for the presidential election during the first week-and-a-half of early voting.
    According to Deputy Registrar Shontay Jones, 102 people voted Monday, 99 voted Tuesday and 321 people voted last week. Jones believes her office will “stay busy” throughout October. County Probate Judge Lee DeLoach anticipates 75 percent of registered Bulloch County voters will participate in the Nov. 4 General Election.
    Anyone registered to vote in Bulloch County can go to the courthouse, located at the corner of East Main and North Main, and cast a ballot any weekday between now and Oct. 31 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. The office is closed for lunch between 12:30 and 1:30 p.m. A photo ID is required to vote.
    Early voting is similar to absentee voting. A voter comes into the registrar’s office and fills out an absentee application. The registrar then verifies their ID and makes sure the individual is registered to vote in Bulloch. If everything checks out, the voter is given a computer card, which is inserted into one of four touch screen voting machines in the registrars’ office. After completing the electronic ballot, the card is returned to the registrar. Unless there is a line, the entire process takes less than 10 minutes.
    Non registered voters wishing to vote in the presidential election must register by Oct. 6. Persons wishing to register must bring proper identification to the courthouse and fill out a voter registration form, which can also be found at the Georgia Secretary of State’s Web site. In addition, anyone wishing to switch their registration to Bulloch County must do so before Oct. 6. If they do not change, they are required to vote in the county in which they are currently registered.
    Proper identification for voting or registering to vote consists of one of the following: a valid Georgia driver’s license, any valid state or U.S. issued employee identification card with a photo of the elector, a valid U.S. passport, a valid voter identification card, a valid U.S. military identification card or a valid tribal identification card. A voter registration card is not sufficient identification to vote.
    More information about voting can be found at www.sos.state.ga.us.