How to vote in Georgia’s 2022 general election

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Here’s how to vote if you have special circumstances, like a disability, or if you’re unhoused or in jail, or are out of state or overseas. 

In all of these situations, you’ll still need a valid voter ID to vote in Georgia. The voter ID requirements are different, depending on whether you are voting in person or absentee. You can check the voter ID requirements for each case here. 

If you want to vote in person and don’t have an I.D., you can still vote! You can get a free voter ID card from any Georgia County Elections Office or Department of Driver Services Office. For more information, click here. 

Once you’re confident you can secure the necessary ID to vote, you’ll still need to make sure you’re aware of any special circumstances, requirements or accommodations for your situation. 

With a disability

Georgia law requires each county to provide polling places that are accessible to people with disabilities. Provisions for disabilities include: 

• Headsets for those who are deaf or hard of hearing

• Large controls and accommodations for sip-and-puff devices for individuals with limited mobility

• Use of an app on your phone to read the ballot. However, all photos of your ballot must be deleted for you to leave the polls.

If you are a person with a disability, you don’t have to wait in line. You are also entitled to in-person voting assistance if you can’t see the ballot, mark the ballot, operate the voting machine, or enter the booth without help. 

There are restrictions on who can assist you at the poll. It can’t be your employer or anyone connected to your employer, an officer or agent of your union, a candidate or a candidate’s relative. 

To learn more about voting with a disability, click here.

If you’re experiencing housing insecurity or are unhoused

You have a right to vote regardless of your housing situation. If you need a place to register to vote, public libraries are great resources. They will guide you through the process and waive the fee to use the computers. 

If you routinely stay somewhere that has a street address, even if you don’t consider that location your home, you can register to vote using that address as your residence and mailing address. If you can’t travel to your polling place, you can get a free ride to the polls.

If you don’t stay anywhere with an address, you can use a park or a street. If this is your situation, you cannot register to vote online, but you can register on paper and mail it in. 

If you go this route, you will still need a mailing address on file with the Secretary of State’s Office. If there’s any shelter, friend or relative, church, or charity that will let you receive mail at their address, use that. There are also P.O. box services for the homeless.

For more information, click here.

Want to know where the candidate for U.S. Senate, governor, and other elected office stand on housing affordability and access? Read their responses in our Georgia Decides election guide.

If you’re incarcerated awaiting sentencing or trial

If you’re in jail, there’s a possibility that you can still vote. If your case is pending or you are serving time for a misdemeanor, you can vote. You’ll have to request an absentee ballot, and you’ll also need a valid voter ID.

If you’ve been convicted of a felony and are awaiting a transfer to state prison, you cannot vote. 

If you’re overseas or in the military

You have a right to vote no matter where you are in the world. You can vote overseas under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA). You can get an absentee ballot either electronically or by mail. 

Use the Federal Post Card Application to register to vote and to request absentee ballots. Even if you are already registered to vote, you should use it to request absentee ballots. 

Complete, sign, and submit the form to your county registrar’s office  as an email attachment, via fax or by U.S. mail. Even if your ballot doesn’t arrive on election day, it will be counted if it arrives within three days. 

If you don’t receive your requested absentee ballot, you can receive an Emergency Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot.

If you’re going to school outside of Georgia

If you’re in college and trying to vote in Georgia, first and foremost, you’ll need to make sure your voter registration is up to date. Every time you move, even if it’s just down the hall, you’ll need to update your voter registration. 

If you’re in school outside of Georgia, you need to figure out what your voting address will be for election day. Remember, you’ll be voting with an absentee ballot. You’ll receive the ballot in the mail and you want to make sure it’s going to the right location. 

If you have a permanent address at your school and know that’s where you’ll be living at the time of the next election, use that. If you’ll be back on campus at the time of the next election, you can get an absentee ballot sent to your school address.

If you won’t be at your school address at the time of the next election, and you’re not sure where you will be, you may need to check early voting dates and see if something will work for you.