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Early voting period begins in Georgia

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Updated  October 12, 2020 5:14am EDT
2020 Election
FOX 5 Atlanta

Early voting begins Monday

What you need to know for Early Voting in Georgia which begins on Monday.

ATLANTA - Early voting in Georgia kicks off Monday ahead of the November election. Election officials are bracing for a record turnout this year.

Election officials say it has been a work in progress since Fulton County saw long lines and technical failures in June.

"I think we have to proceed with caution and be prepared for all the scenarios we can be," said Billy Honor Jr., Director of Faith and Civic Engagement at the New Georgia Project.

Thousands of poll workers have been hired, and there is more technical support staff at polling places.

"We're trying to drive 80% of people to vote early or absentee by mail," said Richard Barron, Fulton County Elections Director, "We've already received 40,000 ballots back."

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Fulton County has 30 early voting locations including the largest in the state at the State Farm Arena. There will also be two mobile voting busses that will go directly to voters.

"Even if it takes 10 minutes, still act like it may take a few hours just in case," said Honor.

Voting advocate groups like The New Georgia Project encourage you to come up with a voter plan.

"That means you need to know where your location is because all of the locations will not be open as they would be on November 3rd," said Honor.

If you requested an absentee ballot and decide instead to go in person, give you absentee ballot to the poll manager at your precinct. Once your absentee ballot is marked canceled, you can then vote in person.

"We've already processed more than 217,000 absentees by mail applications. That's 70,000 more than we processed for the June election," said Barron.

Voter advocate groups say they are preparing for every scenario.

"We prepare as if all of this could wrong. That's the best way to approach this and then we turn around and say hey that wasn't so bad," said Honor.

The hours for early voting locations do vary, so be sure to check your county's election website for details.

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