Voting in a Primary and Nonpartisan General Election

Georgia does not require party registration; therefore, when voting in primaries, voters in Georgia may choose a Democrat or Republican Party ballot; that party choice does not tie the voter to any specific party for future elections.  Except for runoffs when the voter may only vote the same party that was voted in the preceding primary.

The General Election for nonpartisan candidates is conducted along with the party primaries. A voter may choose a nonpartisan ballot; however, that ballot would only contain judicial, Board of Commissioners, and Board of Education races for Gwinnett County.  Nonpartisan races appear on each party’s primary ballot as well.

How it’s done:

• Voter chose a Democrat party ballot in Primary – must only vote Democrat ballot or nonpartisan ballot in runoff
• Voter chose a Republican party ballot in Primary – must only vote Republican ballot or nonpartisan ballot in runoff
• Voter chose a nonpartisan ballot in Primary – may choose either party ballot for runoff
• Voter does not vote in Primary – may choose either party ballot for runoff

Voting in a General Election

The General Election ballot contains candidates from recognized political parties and bodies (if any), independent candidates and options for write-in candidates.  When you vote in a General Election you do not specify a party on your voter certificate. Once you complete the paperwork,  you will be provided the ballot for your specific precinct.

Time off to Vote
Each employee in this state shall, upon reasonable notice to his or her employer, be permitted by his or her employer to take any necessary time off from his or her employment to vote in any municipal, county, state, or federal political party primary or election for which such employee is qualified and registered to vote on the day on which such primary or election is held; provided, however, that such necessary time off shall not exceed two hours; and provided, further, that, if the hours of work of such employee commence at least two hours after the opening of the polls or end at least two hours prior to the closing of the polls, then the time off for voting as provided for in this Code section shall not be available. The employer may specify the hours during which the employee may absent himself or herself as provided in this Code section.

Each elector shall present proper identification to a poll official. Proper identification shall consist of any one of the following:

• A Georgia driver's license which was properly issued by the appropriate state agency

• A valid Georgia voter identification card issued under Code Section 21-2-417.1 or other valid identification card issued by a branch, department, agency, or entity of the State of Georgia, any other state, or the United States authorized by law to issue personal identification, provided that such identification card contains a photograph of the elector

• A valid United States passport

• A valid employee identification card containing a photograph of the elector and issued by any branch, department, agency, or entity of the United States government, this state, or any county, municipality, board, authority, or other entity of this state

• A valid United States military identification card, provided that such identification card contains a photograph of the elector

• A valid tribal identification card containing a photograph of the elector

Those who are entitled to vote by absentee ballot under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act are exempt from this requirement.

Bilingual Spanish Language Assistance
Gwinnett County has been designated as a Section 203 jurisdiction under the Voting Rights Act. For County voters, Spanish language assistance is available as well as Spanish language materials, including ballots.

Language assistance is also available at the Elections Office, both oral and written, for those voters who request it.

Sample ballot and/or written voting notes are allowed to be taken into the voting booth
It is recommended that you view and obtain a copy of your precinct specific sample ballot and mark your voting choices on your Sample Ballot to be used as a reference at your polling place on Election Day. But, remember to take your sample ballot with you upon leaving the voting booth. To obtain your precinct’s specific sample ballot, visit the Secretary of State’s website. After providing identifying information, you will be able to view sample ballot for federal, state, and county elections.

To obtain a sample ballot from a city election, you will need to contact the city hall. Visit the City Information webpage for city contact information.

Provisional Ballots are available for voters for specific reasons
A provisional ballot is used to record a vote if a voter's eligibility is in question and the voter would otherwise not be permitted to vote. The content of a provisional ballot is no different from a regular ballot, but it is cast "provisionally" until the voter's eligibility is determined.

If a voter appears at an incorrect precinct, the voter will be directed to correct polling location to cast the ballot for all races for which they are eligible, as required by law. If the voter states they cannot make it to the correct polling location by 7:00pm on Election Day, they may request to vote a provisional ballot, complete an affidavit stating the reason with a signature and date; however, ballots are precinct-specific so any federal, statewide or countywide races/initiatives would be duplicated and tabulated. Any district specific races would most likely not be counted. Voters are encouraged to vote at the correct precinct to ensure all votes they cast are counted. Once determined what will count, the voter will receive notification of the disposition of their ballot.