ATLANTA — With Election Day come and gone, and neither Sen. Raphael Warnock or Herschel Walker poised to clear the 50% + 1 threshold to avoid a runoff in their U.S. Senate, Georgians are gearing up to head to the polls once more.
There are still many logistical details to be worked out about how the runoff will proceed ahead of its official Dec. 6 voting date. But one thing Georgia voters can already get started on is requesting an absentee ballot, if that's their voting method of choice.
Can Georgia voters already request an absentee ballot for the runoff, and how can they do that?
Yes, voters can begin requesting an absentee ballot for the Dec. 6 Senate runoff. In fact, they could've done so going as far back as September.
That's because the state allows for absentee ballot requests in the event of a runoff, whether or not that runoff will actually happen.
It lets local election offices get ahead of things a bit once they will now soon have to start sending those runoff ballots out to voters.
It works pretty much the same as the request process for the general election - voters can print off the form here, fill it out and send it to their local election office.
The Georgia Secretary of State's Office also already has an online request portal set up where you can specifically select your ballot request for the Dec. 6 runoff.
When is the deadline to request an absentee ballot for the Georgia Senate runoff?
Applications must be received no later than 11 days before the election day, which in this case means you need to get your request in by Nov. 28.
If you plan to vote by absentee, make sure to mail that well in advance so that you can be sure it'll get to your election office on time.
Do I need to request a ballot again if I did one for the Nov. 8 election?
In many, but not all cases, yes.
Some voters are allowed to check a box on their application so that they will be automatically sent a runoff absentee ballot - this applies to elderly voters, voters with disabilities and military or overseas voters.
But everyone else will need to make another request by mail or online.
11Alive is committed to helping you vote confidently by understanding the 2022 election issues that impact you. Our goal is to educate and inform our audience about the election process. We plan to do that by verifying facts, providing context, and explaining the system.
You can read our full mission statement online. In addition, get more election resources here at 11alive.com/vote.