Rockdale County residents voting in the upcoming July 31 general primary and nonpartisan elections can start as early as July 9.

Early voting in person and by absentee ballot in the mail will be available July 9 – 27.

To cast an absentee ballot in person, voters must visit the Board of Elections and Registration office at 1400 Parker Road between the hours of 8am and 4:30pm Mondays through Fridays beginning July 9 and ending July 20. Other designated hours include 9am to 4pm on Saturday, July 21, and 8am to 4:30pm on Monday, July 23 and Tuesday, July 24. Lastly, the office will offer extended hours from 8am to 7pm on Wednesday, July 25 through Friday, July 27.

To request an absentee ballot by mail, voters can submit a written request to the Board of Elections office. Written requests can be made by mail, email or fax and must include the voter’s name, address, date of birth, address of where the ballot must be mailed, telephone number, type of ballot (Democrat, Republican or Non-Partisan) and the voter's signature. Absentee ballots must be returned by no later than 7pm on election day.

Absentee ballots can also be downloaded on the county’s website at www.rockdalecounty.org, where sample ballots are also available for viewing.

Residents will be required to present one of six forms of photo identification as proof of residence for advanced voting and on election day. The most common form of identification accepted will be a valid Georgia driver's license. Others forms are a current passport, a government-issued ID card or a military ID card. Those without any one of these forms of photo identification can obtain a free voter ID card at the county registrars' office or the Georgia Department of Driver's Services.

The Rockdale County Elections Supervisor’s office projects 14,465 voters will cast ballots next month for July 31.
According to the Rockdale County Board of Elections office, all 48,213 registered voters should have received new precinct cards in the mail last week to reflect newly assigned Congressional, State House and Senate districts, which were realigned due to population shifts reflected in the 2010 census.

To confirm voter registration and voting location, voters can contact either the Board of Elections office at (770)278-7333, the Voter Registration Hotline at (888)264-1115 or visit the Secretary of State’s website at www.sos.georgia.gov/MVP.