Voter registration deadline Oct. 8
By SARAH FAY CAMPBELLsarah@newnan.com
If you’re not registered to vote and you want to vote in the presidential election on Nov. 6, you have one month to register.
Oct. 8 is the deadline.
You can also pick up voter registration forms at many locations, including local libraries. And college students can obtain necessary forms from the school registrar’s office or the vice president of academic affairs.
If you haven’t voted in several years and are unsure if your voter registration is still valid, the easiest way to check is by calling the voter registration office at 770-254-2615 or by visiting the Secretary of State’s My Voter Page at www.sos.georgia.gov/MVP .
September is National Voter Registration Month.
Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp is joining secretaries of state around the country in reminding citizens about voter registration deadlines and state resources.
“As Georgians and citizens of the United States of America, we have no more solemn honor than our privilege to cast a vote,” said Kemp. “As Georgia’s chief elections officer, I want to make sure that every Georgian has the opportunity to register to vote and make their voices heard at the polls.”
According to Kemp’s office, despite record-breaking voter registration and turnout levels in many states in the 2008 presidential election, six million potential voters didn’t cast a ballot because they missed a voter registration deadline or did not know how to register to vote.
Though the presidential race is by far the biggest on the Nov. 6 ballot, there are two contested local races here in Coweta.
Coweta County Commissioner Al Smith, a Democrat, is being challenged by Republican Hayden Marlowe.
And State Rep. Carl Von Epps, D-LaGrange, is being challenged by Republican Gene King of Meriwether County. Following the recent redistricting following the 2010 Census count, Von Epps’ State House district now includes portions of southwest Coweta — the Grantville, Central, Smokey Road and Pine Road precincts.
There are also contested races for two seats on the Georgia Public Service Commission.
Absentee ballots for the Nov. 6 election can start being mailed out in a couple of weeks — on Sept. 21.
Early in-person voting begins on Oct. 15.
For more information contact the Coweta County Voter Registration office at 770-254-2615 or visit www.sos.georgia.gov/elections .
