Polk County Board of Elections & Registration

05/03/2016

EARLY VOTING DATES & TIMES

CEDARTOWN ELECTIONS OFFICE
and
ROCKMART COMMUNITY CENTER

MAY 2, 2016 to MAY 20, 2016
Monday thru Friday
9:00am -5:00pm

SATURDAY MAY 14th 9:00am - 4:00pm

You can still call in to request an absentee ballot application to have a ballot sent to your home. DEADLINE to mail out an absentee ballot application and absentee ballot is MAY 20, 2016 @ 5:00pm. If you have any questions please give our office a call at 770-749-2103...

SAMPLE BALLOTS are available at both location.

ALL LOCAL CANDIDATES QUALIFIED TO BE ON THE REPUBLICAN BALLOT.

THERE ARE NO LOCAL CANDIDATES ON THE DEMOCRAT OR NONPARTISAN BALLOTS.

02/03/2016

EARLY VOTING DATES & TIMES

CEDARTOWN ELECTIONS OFFICE
&
ROCKMART COMMUNITY CENTER

February 8th -12th 9:00am -5:00pm

CLOSED MONDAY FEBRUARY 15th -PRESIDENTS DAY

February 16th - 19th 9:00am - 5:00pm

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 20th 9:00am - 4:00pm

February 22nd- 26th 9:00am -5:00pm

You can still call in to request an absentee ballot application to have a ballot sent to your home. DEADLINE to mail out an absentee ballot application and absentee ballot is February 26, 2016 @ 5:00pm. If you have any questions please give our office a call at 770-749-2103...

01/22/2016

Early Voting/Advance Voting to be held for 3 weeks in the Polk County Board of Elections Office, 144 West Ave, Ste D, Cedartown and in the Nathan Dean Center, 436 Hogue Ave, Rockmart. Voting will begin on FEBRUARY 8, 2016 and run till FEBRUARY 26, 2016. Monday thru Friday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. With one SATURDAY VOTING to be held on FEBRUARY 20th from 9:00 am til 4:00 pm at BOTH locations. Again, the voter registration deadline is FEBRUARY 1, 2016.

If you would like to request an Absentee Ballot please give our office a call and we will be glad to send out the Absentee Ballot Application. The application will need to be filled out completely and returned to our office. The actual ballot can then be mailed to you.

If you have any questions please give us a call at 770-749-2103.

01/22/2016

If you are planning on voting in the Presidential Preference Primary and are not a registered voter in Polk County you will have until Monday, February 1, 2016 to get registered. That is the registration cut off date for that election. You can still register to vote but your application will not be processed until after the March 1, 2016 election. You have many options to get registered to vote. You can come by the office to pick up or fill out a voter registration applicaiton (a form of ID is required). You can also find an application at the library, and some city halls. The Secretary of State offers a link on their website call the MY VOTER PAGE/OLVR under the ELECTIONS drop down that will also help you to register to vote. If you have a smart phone or tablet you can download from the APP STORE the GAVOTES APP. With the APP you can register to vote, check your voter registration, where you go to vote, what offices/districts your eligible to vote in, and gives you all the key election dates. If you have any questions please give our office a call at 770-749-2103...

12/17/2015

As most of you know there was a potential data breach in the voter registration information. We were assured that the situation was handled and 10 of the CD's containing the data were returned and 2 were verified as destroyed. The Secretary of State is offering free credit monitoring for all registered voters the hotline is listed below as well as the website link. You can also go to the Secretary of State website and go to the ELECTIONS tab, scroll to the top of the page (Brian Kemp's picture) and on the left click on the link (in blue) "NOTICE REGARDING VOTER DATA". There are a number of links for your information..
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Statement on Voter Data Security
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Credit Monitoring and Identity Restoration Services

The Georgia Secretary of State’s office has contracted with CSID to provide one year of complimentary credit monitoring and identity restoration services to Georgia voters who appeared on the October 13, 2015 voter list. Enrollment in the monitoring services will be open from December 16th, 2015 to February 14th, 2016.

Before enrolling in the monitoring services, you will first need to validate your eligibility through the instructions provided through the link below. This service is offered to all registered voters whose information appeared on the October 13, 2015 voter list. To confirm your eligibility and enroll in CSID Protector coverage, click the below link:

https://www.csid.com/gasos/

In addition to the option of enrolling in CSID Protector, CSID is providing identity restoration services to any eligible voter if their identity is stolen at any point through December 31, 2016. The identity theft restoration service is offered to every Georgia voter whose information appeared on the October 13, 2015 voter list. No enrollment is required for the identity restoration services.

If you have any questions or if you are unable to validate your eligibility even though you believe you were a registered voter as of October 13, 2015, please contact the Secretary of State Data Security Hotline at 404-654-6045..

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Important Notice to Georgia Voters
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HOTLINE

If you have further questions about this issue, please feel free to call our hotline that we have set up for this issue: 404-654-6045
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The Georgia Secretary of State’s office has partnered with CSID to provide complimentary credit and non-credit identity protection coverage to all Georgia

11/03/2015

As of 3:00pm the numbers are Cedartown 130 & Aragon 43..

11/03/2015

As of 10:00 am the total voters for Cedartown is 55 and Aragon is 16. Ok city voters get out there and cast those votes!!!

11/02/2015

Well, the turn out for Early Voting for the Municipal Elections was very small! As of noon today the total for Cedartown Advance Voting in person was 159 and Absentee by mail was 14 for a grand total of 173 voters. Aragon had 0 votes cast during the 21 days of Early Voting. These are unofficial totals. Remember tomorrow is Election Day!!! So all you Cedartown and Aragon voters need to get out there and cast those votes!!! Rockmart will not be holding an election due to only the incumbents qualifying for the seats that were up for election.

10/08/2015

Advance Voting for the General Municipal Election will begin on Monday, October 12th and go through Friday, October 30th.at the Board of Elections Office located at 144 West Ave, Cedartown between the hours of 9am to 5pm. This election is only for those residents that reside in the city of Cedartown or Aragon. You may also request an Absentee Ballot Application to receive your ballot by mail. If you have any questions please give our office a call at 770-749-2103.

09/23/2015

Our office held Qualifying again Monday, Sept. 21st-22nd, 9-5 and Wed., Sept 23rd 9-12 for the 2 Council Seats available for the City of Aragon. Two have qualified and the names are: Tammy L Mulkey and John Akins. The GENERAL/SPECIAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION will be held on NOVEMBER 3, 2015. The last day to register to vote will be OCTOBER 5, 2015. Early voting will begin on October 12th-30th to be held in the Cedartown Office only, Monday thru Friday, 9:00am -5:00pm. You may also request an Absentee Ballot Application to have a ballot mailed to your address if you are unable to attend any of the days listed above or you want to vote from the comfort of your house. If you have any questions please give our office a call at 770-749-2103..

09/11/2015

Our office held Qualifying for the GENERAL/SPECIAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION to be held on November 3, 2015 for the City of Cedartown and City of Aragon August 31 thru September 2, 2015. With the City of Rockmart conducting their own qualifying from August 31 thru September 4, 2015. The candidates that have qualified are listed below. **City of Aragon to reopen qualifying for the ONE remaining seat. Date, times, and qualifying fee listed below.**

CITY OF CEDARTOWN

COMMISSIONER —2 SEATS AVAILABLE

DALE L. TUCK, INCUMBENT
PATRICK McNALLY
ANDREW CARTER
DAVID JAMESON

CITY OF ARAGON

MAYOR

BRENDA GAZAWAY

COUNCILMAN-- 2 SEATS AVAILABLE

CURTIS BURRUS, INCUMBENT

**QUALIFYING TO BE HELD AGAIN FOR 1 ARAGON COUNCIL SEAT**

**QUALIFYING FEE IS $36.00**

**SEPTEMBER 21-22, 2015 FROM 9am to 5pm**
**SEPTEMBER 23, 2015 FROM 9am to 12:30pm**

**AT THE ELECTIONS OFFICE IN CEDARTOWN**

CITY OF ROCKMART

MAYOR

STEVE MILLER, INCUMBENT

COUNCIL SEAT--2 SEATS AVAILABLE

WARD 2
JAMES PAYNE, INCUMBENT

WARD 5
RICK STONE, INCUMBENT

07/07/2015

We will be holding municipal elections for the cities of Cedartown, Rockmart and Aragon on November 3, 2015. These elections will be for the positions of Mayor, City Council Members, and a referendum question will also be on the Aragon ballot. There are many different ways of casting your vote. There are 21 days of Early/Advance Voting (includes one Saturday Voting 9 am to 4 pm) in the Cedartown Main Office that includes all 3 of the cities. Rockmart will be holding Early Voting for just Rockmart City Voters on October 26 to 30, 2015 from 9 am to 5 pm at the Nathan Dean Center on Hogue Ave.

If none of these options fit into your schedule then try an Absentee Ballot. It is a very simple process that is open to ALL VOTERS. Below are questions and answers that should help with voting by mail.

Absentee Voting 2015 - 2016

Questions & Answers

Absentee voting by mail is a three-step process.

(1) The voter or family member must request an absentee ballot application. It can be picked up in office, mailed, or printed on line at www.sos.ga.gov on your My Voter Page. And returned to our office by hand, mail or faxed for verification.
(2) The actual paper ballot will then be mailed to the voter. ALL ABSENTEE BALLOTS HAVE TO GO BY UNITED STATES POSTAL MAIL PER GEORGIA LAW.
(3) Then the voter fills out the ballot and returns it to us in person or by mail.

Absentee Ballot Applications
How do I request blank absentee ballot applications for our residents?
They may be requested by phone to be mailed, or picked up in bundles of 50 for distribution. Family members may also come to our office and fill out the application for a disabled voter. In all cases, the ballot will be mailed to the voter.

Do I sign the application if I’m assisting a resident and I’m not a family member?
Yes-- You will sign next to the line where the voter puts their signature or mark.

**Does the resident need to put his/her signature or mark on the application if he/she is being assisted by someone other than a relative?
Yes

**How and who can return an application?
The application may be mailed to our office (one per envelope) or faxed. If the voter is disabled, a family member may come to our office to apply in person. Ballots cannot be carried out of our office.

**How early can applications be received prior to an election?
180 days.

**When will the voter receive the ballot?
Ballots are available 45 days before the election with federal candidates, and usually 21-30 days for other elections. Once we receive your application, we will mail your ballot within two days of receipt. For Runoffs the ballots are mailed as soon after the election as they can be printed.

**May a resident receive a ballot for more than one election with one application?
A disabled voter, or a voter 65 years of age or older may submit one application for the Primary. By checking the appropriate box on the application we understand that they also request a ballot for a Runoff, General Election and General Runoff.

**Does a resident have to complete a separate application for a Special Election even though they applied for a ballot in a Primary and checked the appropriate box?
Yes

**Does a resident have to have a separate application for the Presidential Primary?
Yes

**Can a ballot be mailed to a 2nd Polk County address, not the one at which the voter is registered?
Only if a voter is disabled, can we mail the ballot to an address that is not their registered address.

**What is the last day a voter can apply for an absentee ballot before an election?
By 5:00 pm on the Friday before the election is the last day to apply by mail.

Voting and Returning the Ballot

**Is it important for a resident to make a mark on the yellow oath envelope if they are blind?
We must have a signature/mark of the voter for the ballot to be counted. The voter is swearing or affirming the oath contained on the envelope.

**Who can assist the voter and sign the yellow oath envelope?
Any Polk County registered voter, or close relative. Be sure to also check the box that indicates the elector requires assistance either due to physical disability or inability to read English.

**How many voters may one person assist?
If there is a federal candidate on the ballot – unlimited. No federal candidate on ballot – 10.

**Why are there so many envelopes?
The smallest, white envelope is the “Official Privacy Envelope” which ensures that no one knows how an individual voted. The ballot must be sealed in the white Privacy Envelope first, and then sealed in the yellow Oath Envelope.


**How can we return the ballot?
If the voter is disabled, the ballot can be returned by a close relative or mailed. If the voter is not disabled, the voter must return in person or by mail.

**My spouse isn’t disabled, but I want to bring his/her ballot to your office when I return mine.
Unless the voter is disabled, only the voter may mail or return the voter’s ballot.

**When is the deadline for a ballot to be returned?
Absentee ballots must be received through the mail at the Elections Office by 7 p.m. on Election Day. Disabled voters may have a family member deliver the ballot to the Elections Office by 7 p.m. on Election Day.


If you have any questions please give us a call at 770-749-2103..

The web address below is incorrect. Should read: www.sos.ga.gov