Fresh Loaf

Take note, ballot casters! Today’s the last day to register if you want to vote for Atlanta’s next mayor and councilmembers on Nov. 3.

We ran through a list of links and how-to’s last week, so you can jump back to that post for info. But here they are again if you want to save a click.

Check to see if you’re already registered to vote. If not, here’s how you can get registered. Look here to see how you can vote via absentee ballot. To view Early and Advance Voting dates and locations, check out our previous post. This FAQ can answer a lot of questions about the upcoming municipal elections. Your county elections office can answer more specific questions or help you out with specific problems. The Georgia Secretary of State’s office has a convenient one-stop resource to handle general registration and election concerns.

Many municipal races will end up in a runoff, which traditionally have low voter turnout. That means your vote could make or break your favored candidates’ hopes for actually winning office. Now go forth and get registered!

(File photo by Joeff Davis)

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The political process sure has a helluva way of sneaking up on ya, don’t it?

If you want to help decide Atlanta’s next mayor and city councilmembers, you have to get legit with the state before Oct. 5. That’s… seven days away.

Don’t know whether you’re registered to vote? This handy tool courtesy of the Georgia Secretary of State can tell you. If you’re not registered to vote, here’s the info about what you gotta do if you want to cast a ballot. If you have any specific questions, it’s best to contact your county elections office. (The Secretary of State has an easy-to-use one-stop resource that can provide you with most registration and election information. Here’s a list of frequently asked questions about the upcoming Atlanta elections.)

You’ll have the option of voting before Nov. 3. Registered voters can cast ballots Oct. 12-23 during Early Voting. Advance voting will be held Oct. 26-30. We really don’t understand the difference between the two, only that there are additional polling locations. We gleefully copied a chart from the city’s elections website that lists dates and locations and pasted it after the jump.

If you want to vote via absentee ballot, you can download an application from the Secretary of State’s website and a ballot will be mailed to you.

Remember to bring one of these valid forms of ID to the polls. And grab a doughnut or some coffee if they’re available. We’ll have more details as voting time approaches. But in the meantime, get registered.

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Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel got her hand slapped a few hours ago by a three-judge court that decided her efforts to challenge the citizenship of registered voters violated the 1964 Voting Rights Act.

Specifically, the federal judges decided that Handel’s office should have gotten approval from the U.S. Department of Justice before submitting voters names to be checked against the Social Security Administration database. Because she didn’t do so, those voters whose citizenship has been questioned – about 4,500 people – will be allowed to cast a paper ballot on Nov. 4. The court further ordered Handel’s office to notify these “flagged” voters of their right to vote on Election Day.

The ruling came in response to a lawsuit brought by the ACLU and other groups on behalf of a Cherokee County man whose voting eligibility had been challenged by Handel’s office even though he became a U.S. citizen last fall.

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When you’re sitting at the breakfast table Sunday morning, reading Ranger Rick and writing out your weekly to-do list, be sure the first thing you jot on there is “register to vote.” Monday is the deadline. Don’t miss it.

Also, it needs to be noted: Just got off the phone with Matthew Carrothers of Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel’s office. He wanted to clear up the confustion about Wednesday’s post about people who haven’t voted in the last three years getting dropped from voting rolls.

“The issue of not having any contact with your county board of elections or registrars’ office [affecting your voting status] is completely false. You’re not removed from the voting rolls at all. If you have any questions about your voting status, please check with your county registrars’ office or check online at the Secretary of State’s website.”

I’m going to hammer this home and say it again and again. Check to be sure you’re registered. If your status is listed as “inactive,” you need not worry. Carrothers says that’s a coding mechanism required by law and after voting in this election, your status will be updated. (He says Debra was correct in the comments.)

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The AJC adds some details to Wednesday’s Fresh Loaf post about voters who’ve been purged from registration lists.

The state regularly removes the names of voters who have died, committed felonies or relocated. But critics say qualified voters like Coxwell, who temporarily moved to another Georgia county, sometimes get expelled in the process.

Just days remain before Monday’s deadline to register to vote and be eligible to vote in the presidential election — or re-register, if necessary. Watchdog groups worry some Georgians might arrive at their precincts only to find their votes will not count if they have been removed from the rolls.

State officials won’t say how many names have been purged from the voter rolls in the past year. Purging is a routine process mandated by law meant to ensure registrars’ records are up to date, thereby reducing the likelihood of ineligible voters casting ballots.

But Helen Butler, executive director of Coalition for the People’s Agenda, has voiced concerns about problems that purging creates. Last year, after 274,000 names were removed from the rolls, Butler criticized elections officials for not doing enough to notify affected voters.

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Monday, Oct. 6 is the last day to register to vote. And if you think you’re already registered but haven’t cast a ballot in the last three years, you may be turned away when you try to exercise your right.

There are murmurs that some folks who, after visiting Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel’s website to see if they’re registered, are told they’re not, and this is one of the reasons listed as why:

You have not had written contact with your board of registrars office within the last 3 years (which includes voting, change of address, updated voter registration application), which would cause your name to be removed from the voter rolls.

Emphasis added. So if you haven’t voted in the last three years — or you’ve been a bad citizen and not written a letter to your dear old friend Karen Handel — you may not be eligible to cast a ballot.

Don’t let that happen to you when you go to vote. Double check your registration status here. It takes less than a minute. Literally. (I found out I’m still registered in Cobb County, so I’ve got to fix that mess.) Tell your friends to do the same. If your status is not listed as “ACTIVE,” contact or visit your local registration office or the secretary of state. You can download a registration application here.

Don’t let one of the most politically exciting times in your life be screwed up by bureaucratic bullshit. You’ve got until Monday, Oct. 6.

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