Early voting starts Monday, May 2

The Clayton Crescent presents our Early Voting Guide. We are continually updating campaign finance information. If a candidate’s information is not linked here, either the candidate has not filed with the state as of press time or we are in the process of adding that candidate’s link. You can always check the Georgia Campaign Finance System’s website for more information.

We have linked candidates’ campaign sites to their names, based on Qualified Candidiate filings with the Georgia Secretary of State’s office. Several of those links were incorrect. We corrected as many as possible. Some candidates did not have a website listed. Others had old websites from previous campaigns. Those are not linked.

Look for more in-depth coverage of each race in the days ahead. Scroll down to see the candidates in each race, an interactive map of precinct locations, and other information about when and where you can cast your ballot, and what to do if you run into a problem.

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Voters can start casting advance, early, and absentee ballots this Monday, May 2. You have the choice of a Democratic, Republican, or Non-Partisan ballot in the primary. Democratic ballots only list Democratic candidates; Republican ballots only list Republican candidates; and Non-Partisan ballots only show non-party-affiliated candidates, like candidates for judgeships. The point of the primary is to narrow down each party’s field of candidiates

Be aware that some polling locations have changed, and that absentee ballot dropboxes now are only available inside of polling places during the hours the polls are open.

Where can I vote early on the machines?

You can vote early on the machines at these locations:

• Elections and Registration Office
  Historic Jonesboro Courthouse
  121 S. McDonough Street
  Jonesboro, GA 30236
• Carl Rhodenizer Recreation Center
  3499 Rex Road
  Rex, GA 30273
• South Clayton Recreation Center
  1837 McDonough Road
  Hampton, GA 30228
• Lee Headquarters Library
  865 Battle Creek Road
  Jonesboro, GA 30236
• Morrow Municipal Complex
  1500 Morrow Road
  Morrow, GA 30260
• Virginia Burton Gray Recreation Center
  1475 East Fayetteville Road
  Riverdale, GA 30274

When can I apply for an absentee ballot?

Right now—and don’t wait! Some voters can tell you horror stories about waiting until the last minute to request an absentee ballot, of requested ballots that never showed up (until months or years later), or of dropping an absentee ballot in the mail before midnight on Election Night but the ballot not getting counted because it wasn’t postmarked on time.

Your application for an absentee ballot must be received no later than 11 days before the election (that’s May 13), and you must take into account whether you will get your absentee ballot by mail before Election Day (that’s May 24.)

You can go to your My Voter Page to request an absentee ballot, check the status of your application, and see whether your ballot was received.

You also can print out a PDF application for an absentee ballot from the Georgia Secretary of State’s office. Print out the application, fill it out, sign it, place your official Georgia voter ID on the box provided, and take a photo.

Then, you can:

• E-mail it to elections@claytoncountyga.gov
• Fax it to (770) 477-4521
• Mail it to Clayton County Elections and Registration
  121 South McDonough Street
  Jonesboro, GA 30236

You also can physically bring your application and ID to the Clayton County Board of Elections and Registration.

With controversy around Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s takedown of mail sorting machines before the 2020 Presidential election, and with the shorter ballot turnaround times under SB 202, you absolutely should not wait one minute to request your absentee ballot.

Under Georgia law, your absentee ballot is counted not from the date it is postmarked, but from the date it is actually received. And it must be received by the time the polls close on Eletion Day, March 24.

You also should consider whether to make the trip to one of the three designated secure ballot dropbox locations, during the hours when the polls are open, to go inside and place your ballot in the dropbox.

Where are the absentee ballot dropboxes?

You can use absentee ballot dropboxes or vote early on the machines at three locations in Clayton County—but only when the polls are open. SB 202 means no more dropping off ballots outside or after hours:

• Elections and Registration Office
  Historic Jonesboro Courthouse
  121 S. McDonough Street
  Jonesboro, GA 30236
• Carl Rhodenizer Recreation Center
  3499 Rex Road
  Rex, GA 30273
• South Clayton Recreation Center
  1837 McDonough Road
  Hampton, GA 30228

Beware absentee ballot scammers

Under no circumstances should you ever:

• Sign an absentee ballot form for a campaign worker or candidate who asks for your vote or who says they are just registering people
• Give your absentee ballot form to a campaign worker or candidate to drop off for you
• Give your absentee ballot to anyone other than a spouse, partner, or trusted relative or caregiver to drop off for you

If this happens to you, contact the Georgia Secretary of State’s Voter Fraud Hotline at (877) 725-9797or file a complaint online. Take note: These are real complaints with real legal consequences, and a state investigator may respond.

What if I mess up my absentee ballot? What if it never came?

If you make a mistake filling out your ballot, do this:

• Write SPOILED across the ballot itself and across the yellow envelope
• Put the ballot in the white envelope
• Put the white envelope (containing your ballot) in the yellow envelope.
• Seal the yellow envelope and bring it to the Clayton County Board of Elections and Registration. You can ask for a new absentee ballot to be mailed to you, or you can vote early in person on the machine. Again, don’t count on the mail, especially if it’s less then three weeks before Election Day.

The “Absentee Ballot Portal” on your My Voter Page will show your history of absentee ballot use. In this example, a voter (this reporter) requested an absentee ballot and made a mistake on it. The voter cancelled the paper absentee ballot, brought the spoiled ballot to the county elections office, and voted early on the machine:

When are the polls open?

Polls will be open for early voting as follows:

Monday, May 2—8 a.m.-7 p.m.

Tuesday, May 3—8 a.m.-7 p.m.

Wednesday, May 4—8 a.m.-7 p.m.

Thursday, May 5—8 a.m.-7 p.m.

Friday, May 6—8 a.m.-7 p.m.

Saturday, May 7—9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Monday, May 9—8 a.m.-7 p.m.

Tuesday, May 10—8 a.m.-7 p.m.

Wednesday, May 11—8 a.m.-7 p.m.

Thursday, May 12—8 a.m.-7 p.m.

Friday, May 6—13 a.m.-7 p.m.

Saturday, May 14—9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Sunday, May 15—12 p.m.-5 p.m.

Monday, May 16—8 a.m.-7 p.m.

Tuesday, May 17—8 a.m.-7 p.m.

Wednesday, May 18—8 a.m.-7 p.m.

Thursday, May 19—8 a.m.-7 p.m.

Friday, May 20—8 a.m.-7 p.m.

Where do I vote on Election Day?

Election Day is Tuesday, May 24. Log into https://mvp.sos.ga.gov to check your My Voter Page for your precinct number.

If you live in a municipality that conducts its own elections, you may see two different precincts on your voter registration card. This example shows a card from a voter registered in the City of Forest Park:

In this example, the top “precinct name,” FP1, is how the Clayton County Board of Elections and Registration abbreviates Forest Park Precinct 1. It applies to county, state, and federal elections. The name of the polling location and the address are listed below the precinct number.

The bottom “city precinct,” FP, applies only to city elections. Some cities contract with the Clayton County Board of Elections and Registration to run their elections. Others, like Forest Park, might run their own elections with city elections staff or contract with private companies to run elections for them. Note the different polling place address for city elections in this case.

In other words, if you live in Forest Park, you have two places where you vote, and you have to know which one to go to for which election.

If you have trouble making sense of your voter registration card or need help with finding your precinct abbreviation or any other voting-related matter, you can call the Clayton County Board of Elections and Registration for help.

Where do I vote on Election Day (May 24)?

Here is the full list of 65 Election Day precincts from the Clayton County Board of Elections and Registration. We made a map for you so you can find your Election Day precinct. Zoom in, find your precinct number, and click on the “I’m a Georgia Voter” sticker for more information and directions to your polling place:

Has my polling place moved?

Be aware that three polling locations have changed:

Precinct	Old Location	New Location
LC 1	Arbor Hall, Clayton State University 5823 Trammell Road Morrow, GA 30260	Harry S. Downs Center, Clayton State University 2000 Clayton State Blvd. Morrow, GA 30260
RD 10	Riverdale United Methodist Church 6390 Church Street Riverdale, GA 30274	Clayton County Library Northwest Branch 6131 Riverdale Road Riverdale, GA 30274
EW 1	Utopian Academy for the Arts 2750 Forest Parkway Ellenwood, GA 30294	Sonna Singleton Gregory Senior Center 3215 Anvil Block Road Ellenwood, GA 30294

If you live in Precinct EW 1 (Ellenwood 1), RD 10 (Riverdale 10), or LC 1 (Lake City 1), the Elections and Registration Office should send you a notice in the mail letting you know about the change.

Who’s running for which office?

Here is a list of candidates who have qualified at the federal, state and county level, taken from the Qualified Candidates list on the Georgia Secretary of State’s website. We’ve put the incumbent first, when there is an incumbent, followed by all challengers in alphabetical order. The Secretary of State’s online list presents all Republicans, then all Democrats, then all Libertarians, each in alphabetical order.

We’ve double-checked each candidate’s website link and found several that were incorrect on the Qualified Candidiates’ page. Using our powers of deduction, we corrected the bad web addresses. To see each candidate’s campaign website, click on their name. Some candidates do not appear to have a campaign website, so their names are not linked.

Campaign finance reports, previous voting records (where applicable), and relevant background information appear under each candidate’s name. The state changed the website where candidates and elected officials report their finances. You might find information about a candidate’s campaign finances and personal finances on either site. Here’s the old one and here’s the new one. Be sure to look under both the candidate and the candidate’s campaign committee. You can also learn more about an experienced candidate by looking at previous years’ filings, including those for previous offices that person has held.

Clayton County

Want to know more about a candidate’s personal and campaign finances? Look up their recent Campaign Contribution Disclosure Reports (CCDRs), Personal Financial Disclosure Reports, and candidate affidavits on Clayton County’s Easy Campaign Finance Portal (https://claytoncountyga.easyvotecampaignfinance.com/home/publicfilings).

You also can check older filings (back to about 2006) and any penalties for overdue reports on https://ethics.ga.gov/search-recordsreports-late-fees/

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Statewide

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State Representative

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Federal

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Follow the money!

When are campaign finance filings due?

For municipal, county, state-level, and statewide officials and candidates, campaign finance documents must be filed by January 31, April 30, June 30, September 30, October 25, and December 31 during an election year.

However there is a five-day grace period for all filings. Those who don’t file on time are subject to fines.

Although everyone in the current races should have filed their January 31 disclosures, some April 30 disclosures may not be filed until the first week of early/advance voting is over. If you want to know more about where your candidate’s money is coming from and who’s backing them, you might want to wait for those disclosures.

If a candidate files an Affidavit of Exemption, they don’t have to file CCDRs unless they get more than $2,500 in contributions.

Non-election year deadlines for county and municipal filers are June 30 and December 1. For state senators, state representatives, statewide offices, and candidates for those offices, the non-election year deadlines are January 31 and June 30. For district attorneys and Superior Court judges, the non-election year filing deadlines are June 30 and December 31.

For all special elections, filings are due 15 days before the election date and on December 31.

For all runoffs, including special primary and special election runoffs, CCDRs are due 6 days before the elections date and on December 31.

You’ll notice that gives the public and the press exactly one day to find out about a special election candidate’s finances if the candidate does not file until the end of the grace period. Not all those filings will be online in time, and municipal and some county filings are generally held at the local level, even though the state requires that documentation.

What about PACs?

Georgia has 131 registered political action committees (PACs), which are issue- or business-oriented lobbying groups. They also have to file financial disclosures with the state on January 31, April 30, June 30, September 30, October 25, and December 31 in election years. During non-election years, they have to file three times: on January 31, June 30, and December 31. PACs also get a 5-day grace period for filing.

And, just as political candidates do, PACs have to file 15 days before a special election, 6 days before a special election runoff, 6 days before a run-off primary, all with a 5-day grace period.

They also have to file 6 days before a run-off election, as well as on December 31—but they only get a 2-day grace period.

What about other non-candidate committees?

• State lobbyists have to file every two weeks, on the 1st and 15th of the month, while the General Assembly is in session. From May through December, they must file on the 5th of each month.
• Local lobbyists who work during the legislative session (January 1-April 30) are due to turn in their paperwork on May 5.
• After a five-day grace period, they are fined $250 for each late report. After 7 days, that’s $1,275 per report. After the 21st day, the penalty (per report) is $11,275. The same fines apply to deadlines when the General Assembly is out of session (September 5 and January 5).

What about lobbyists?

To whom much is given, much is required: lobbyists at various levels all have to turn in reports to the state—and face stiff fines if they are late.

Georgia’s 44 independent, 3 ballot question, 1 statewide referendum, and (when they exist) constitutional amendment committees have to register and report “from the moment they start raising and spending money in Georgia,” according to the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission.

However, they’re each on a different reporting schedule by calendar year:

• Independent committees: 2 months, 1 month, and 2 weeks before the election date, and on December 31
• Statewide referendum/constitutional amendment committees: 75 days, 45 days, and 15 days before the election date, and on December 31
• Ballot committees: 15 days before the election date, and on December 31

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If you have a question for us about the election, or if you see something we’ve missed, e-mail editor@claytoncrescent.org .