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1. Are there restrictions on who can assist an elector in completing an absentee ballot application?

There are no restrictions on who may assist a voter in completing an absentee ballot application.

But, there are restrictions on who can apply for an absentee ballot on behalf of a voter.

• First, the application shall be in writing and shall contain the name and relationship of the person requesting the ballot, if other than the elector.

• Second, in the case of an elector residing temporarily out of the county or municipality or a physically disabled elector residing within the county or municipality, the application for the elector's absentee ballot may, upon satisfactory proof of relationship, be made by such elector's mother, father, grandparent, aunt, uncle, sister, brother, spouse, son, daughter, niece, nephew, grandchild, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, mother-in-law, father-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law of the age of 18 or over. Relatives applying for absentee ballots for electors must also sign an oath stating that facts in the application are true.

• Third, if the elector is unable to fill out or sign such elector's own application because of illiteracy or physical disability, the elector shall make the elector’s mark, if able, and the person filling in the rest of the application shall sign such person's name below it as a witness.

2. Do voters have to apply for an absentee ballot for each and every election?

If a physically disabled voter or a voter 65 years of age or older makes a written request to receive an absentee ballot for the primary, primary runoff, general, or general runoff, he or she will receive ballots without having to ask again by specifically stating on the written request or absentee application the following phrase: ALL BALLOTS. The ALL BALLOTS request will be in effect for the remainder of the regular election cycle and will not apply to Presidential Preference Primaries or Special Elections.

3. How may the absentee ballot application be returned to the Elections Office?

There are no restrictions on who may take possession of, transmit, or deliver an application for an absentee ballot or on how those applications are transmitted or delivered.

Some ways in which an application for an absentee ballot may be returned include:

• Personal delivery by the voter
• By mail
• By fax
• In a bundle over the counter, by mail, or by fax by a third party on behalf of the voter

4. Who may assist a voter in voting their absentee ballot?

A physically disabled or illiterate elector may receive assistance in preparing his or her ballot from one of the following:

• any elector who is qualified to vote in the same county or municipality as the disabled or illiterate elector; or
• an attendant care provider or a person providing attendant care; or
• the mother, father, grandparent, aunt, uncle, brother, sister, spouse, son, daughter, niece, nephew, grandchild, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, mother-in-law, father-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law of the disabled or illiterate elector.

The person assisting the elector in preparing the ballot shall sign the oath printed on the same envelope as the oath to be signed by the elector. If the disabled or illiterate elector is traveling outside his or her own county or municipality, a notary public of the jurisdiction may give such assistance and shall sign the oath printed on the same envelope as the oath to be signed by the elector. No person shall assist more than ten such electors in any primary, election, or runoff in which there is no federal candidate on the ballot.

5. Can a voted absentee ballot be returned to the Elections Office by anyone other than the voter?

Georgia law prohibits anyone other than the voter from taking personal possession of, or delivering a voted mail-in absentee ballot, unless the voter is physically disabled in which case the ballot may be returned by any adult person upon satisfactory proof that such adult person is the voter’s mother, father, grandparent, aunt, uncle, brother, sister, spouse, son, daughter, niece, nephew, grandchild, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, mother-in-law, father-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, or an individual residing in the household of the disabled voter.

Voted ballots returned to the Elections Office in person may only be returned by the voter or in the case of a physically disabled voter by one of the relatives listed above. All other voted mail-in absentee ballots must be received by mail by the close of the polls at 7:00 PM on Election Night.