Absentee Voting
Application to Request Absentee Ballot
Absentee ballots may be requested up to 180 days prior to an election. A completed application must first be received before an absentee ballot is issued. It’s best to apply as soon as possible, the deadline is October 30 to apply for an Absentee ballot for the November 3, 2020 General Election and Special Election.
NOTE: Except in the case of physically disabled electors residing in the county or electors in custody in a jail or other detention facility in the county no absentee ballot shall be mailed to an address other than the permanent mailing address of the elector as recorded on the elector's voter registration record or a temporary out-of-county address. If you are unsure of address information on file you may visit the Georgia Secretary of State’s website at www.mvp.sos.ga.gov or call the Elections Office at 678.226.7210. Call volume increases due to upcoming elections, so you may need to leave a voice mail.
Apply for an absentee ballot request in one of several ways:
- Visit BallotRequest.SOS.GA.gov
- Print, sign, and return one of these forms English General/Special Election Ballot Application or Spanish General/Special Election Ballot Application
- Email Absentee@GwinnettCounty.com
- OR call 678.226.7210 to request an application be mailed
Return your completed and signed absentee ballot application:
- Mail or hand-deliver to Voter Registrations and Elections, 455 Grayson Highway, Suite 200, Lawrenceville GA 30046
- Fax it to the Elections Office at 678.226.7208
- Scan and email it to Absentee@GwinnettCounty.com
For more information, read these Absentee Voting Frequently Asked Questions.
Absentee Ballot Application and Status
To check on the status of a request for an absentee ballot or the absentee ballot itself, visit the Georgia Secretary of State’s My Voter Page. You will be required to provide identifying information and county of residence. The My Voter Page website provides the following information:
- Voter registration status
- Absentee application and ballot status
- Poll location
- Advanced voting locations
- Elected officials
- Registration information on file with the county office
- Sample ballot
Status Update
Gwinnett County Elections has caught up with absentee ballot mailings, and going forward, Gwinnett voters should expect a shorter turn-around from application, to processing, to mailing.
For a number of reasons, Gwinnett voters who requested absentee ballots before September 18 may have received their ballots later than voters in other Georgia counties who also applied early.
Georgia voters were able to apply for absentee ballots beginning May 7, 180 days before the General Election, but the law and ballot prep didn’t allow mailing to begin until mid-September. The County received nearly 100,000 absentee ballot applications by the beginning of the printing and mailing process.
Gwinnett County’s printing and mailing vendor also had to acquire nonstandard envelopes in order to accommodate the required English and Spanish language text and therefore was unable to start mailing absentee ballots until a few days after other Georgia counties. Once received into inventory and put into use, the unusual-sized envelopes initially slowed production. After adjustments were made to the equipment, production increased and is now matching the rate of new applications. Gwinnett’s first mailing totaled just under 100,000 ballots. As of October 5, more than 115,000 of the 130,000+ ballots have been mailed.
Now that the first large batch has been mailed, the remainder of the ballots are being mailed at the same rate that the County is receiving applications.
Georgia voters can use the Secretary of State’s My Voter Page website to check the status of their absentee application and ballot. However, voters should note that the listed “Issued Date” is not the mailed date. The “Issued Date” is when the application was entered into the system in order to generate a ballot. The mailing date will be later than the Issued Date.
Track My Absentee Ballot
How to Vote Your Absentee Ballot
- Use a black or blue ink pen
- Completely fill in the oval to the left of the candidate’s name or issue (if it’s a yes or no question).
DO NOT MAKE A CHECK MARK OR “X” IN THE OVAL - Only fill in the oval for the number of votes you may cast in one race, i.e. vote for one, vote for two. If you fill-in more than allowed, that race will not be counted on your ballot.
- Do not write in a name that is already listed on the ballot.
- The ballots for some elections contain more than one page. Ensure you review and vote all of your choices on all pages.
- If you decide to vote in person, you must surrender your absentee ballot to the poll official. The ballot will be cancelled and you will be allowed to vote an electronic ballot.
- If you decide to vote in person, but don’t have your ballot with you, you may still vote at a polling location. Poll officials will assist you in completing the Cancellation of Absentee Ballot (English/Español) and the poll official will record the transaction in a log.
- See Absentee Ballot instructions (English / Spanish)
Using the Ballot Envelopes
- Place your voted absentee ballot only in the oath and privacy envelopes provided. If you are missing an envelope, please call the Elections Office at 678.226.7210.
- Do not place another person’s voted ballot in the envelopes.
- Carefully follow instructions for the oath envelopes.
- If the ballot is more than one page, ensure you enclose all the pages that contain your votes.
- Sign or make your mark in the oath where indicated. If a voter cannot sign his/her name, the voter must still make a mark on the signature line.
- If the voter received assistance in voting the ballot, the person assisting must also sign where indicated.
Returning Voted Absentee Ballot
- After placing your voted absentee ballot in the completed oath envelope, you may return your ballot.
- All voted absentee ballots must be received in the Gwinnett Voter Registrations and Elections Office, or placed in one of the drop boxes by 7:00pm on election night to be counted, with an exception for Military/Overseas Voting.
- Your absentee ballot may be returned by mail, express delivery, or hand-delivered to:
- Gwinnett Voter Registrations and Elections, 455 Grayson Highway, Suite 200, Lawrenceville GA 30046
- Your absentee ballot may be dropped into an official ballot drop box, no postage is required. The ballot drop boxes feature 24-hour surveillance and will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week through Tuesday, November 3 at 7:00pm. The ballot drop boxes are available at these locations:
- Bogan Park Community Recreation Center, 2723 North Bogan Road
- Buford-Sugar Hill Branch Library, 2100 Buford Highway
- Dacula Park Activity Building, 2735 Old Auburn Avenue
- Dacula Branch Library, 265 Dacula Road
- Hamilton Mill Branch Library, 3690 Braselton Highway
- Shorty Howell Park Activity Building, 2750 Pleasant Hill Road
- Duluth Branch Library, 3840 Duluth Park Lane
- Grayson Branch Library, 700 Grayson Parkway
- Gwinnett Voter Registrations & Elections Beauty P. Baldwin Building, 455 Grayson Highway, Suite 200
- Collins Hill Branch Library, 455 Camp Perrin Road
- Five Forks Branch Library, 2780 Five Forks Trickum Road
- Lawrenceville Branch Library, 1001 Lawrenceville Highway
- Lilburn Branch Library, 4817 Church Street NW
- Mountain Park Branch Library, 1210 Pounds Road
- Lucky Shoals Park Community Recreation Center, 4651 Britt Road
- Norcross Branch Library, 6025 Buford Highway
- Peachtree Corners Branch Library, 5570 Spalding Drive
- Lenora Park Gym, 4515 Lenora Church Road
- Centerville Branch Library, 3025 Bethany Church Road
- Snellville Branch Library, 2740 Lenora Church Road
- Mountain Park Aquatic Center,1063 Rockbridge Road
- George Pierce Park Community Recreation Center, 55 Buford Highway
- Suwanee Branch Library, 361 Main Street
- You may drop your absentee ballot at one the county *advance voting locations during the time those locations are in operation.
- Ballots may returned by the elector's mother, father, grandparent, aunt, uncle, brother, sister, spouse, son, daughter, niece, nephew, grandchild, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, mother-in-law, father-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, or an individual residing in the household of such elector
- The absentee ballot of a disabled elector may be mailed or delivered by the caregiver of such disabled elector, regardless of whether such caregiver resides in such disabled elector's household.
- The absentee ballot of an elector who is in custody in a jail or other detention facility may be mailed or delivered by any employee of such jail or facility having custody of such elector.
- Voted ballots may not be faxed or electronically submitted for counting.
- No voted ballots may be turned in for counting at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center or at any Election Day polling location.
- Please contact the Gwinnett Voter Registrations and Elections Office for questions and/or details regarding the return of absentee ballots.
- * No ballot drop box is located at the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds
