DeKalb sets early voting schedule for runoff, with plenty of caveats
UPDATE: DeKalb County now plans to also have advance in-person voting on Nov. 26, the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
Voting will be available from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. that day at three locations: Dunwoody Library, 5339 Chamblee-Dunwoody Road in Dunwoody; the DeKalb election office, 4380 Memorial Drive, Suite 300 in Decatur; and the Gallery at South DeKalb (South DeKalb Mall), 2845 Candler Road in Decatur.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE: DeKalb County’s election board has set an early voting schedule for next month’s U.S. Senate runoff.
An initial version, at least.
The county’s initial advance in-person voting opportunity will be from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Nov. 23 (the Wednesday before Thanksgiving). That will be held only at the elections headquarters at Memorial Drive.
Voting will then be held from noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 27, at the same 16 advance locations offered during the general election. Hours for that day may ultimately be extended, pending staffing and availability.
The core of DeKalb’s advance in-person voting will then from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day between Monday, Nov. 28 and Friday, Dec 2. Voting will definitely be offered at the normal 16 locations (see the bottom of this article for a list), but officials also left open the potential for as many as 10 additional sites to be available.
That decision will also be made based as staffing levels and availability become clearer in coming days.
The fate of early voting on Saturday, Nov. 26 is less clear.
The elections board approved voting that day, but only if a lawsuit filed Tuesday by Democratic U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock and the Democratic Party of Georgia is successful. Those parties are challenging the state’s interpretation of a law that secretary of state Brad Raffensperger says prohibits voting to be held on the Saturday after a holiday.
The law, passed in 2016, restricts Saturday voting if there’s a holiday within two days beforehand. Both Thanksgiving and the state holiday formerly known as Robert E. Lee’s Birthday fall immediately before Nov. 26.
Democrats, though, argue that the law applies only to regularly scheduled elections, not runoffs.
INITIAL DEKALB COUNTY EARLY VOTING SCHEDULE
- Wednesday, Nov. 23: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Memorial Drive elections headquarters only (which has two separate voting locations locations)
- Sunday, Nov. 27: noon to 5 p.m. at the 15 early voting locations listed below. Hours may ultimately extend to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., depending on staffing.
- Monday, Nov. 28 through Friday, Dec. 2: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 15 early voting locations. More locations might be added later, depending on staffing and site availability.
- Saturday, Nov. 26: Voting from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., but only if pending litigation provides a pathway
PRIMARY EARLY VOTING LOCATIONS
- Berean Christian Church, 2201 Young Road in Stone Mountain
- Bessie Branham Recreation Center, 2051 Delano Drive NE in Atlanta
- Beulah Missionary Baptist Church, 2340 Clifton Springs Road in Decatur
- Briarwood Recreation Center, 2235 Briarwood Way NE in Brookhaven
- Clarkston Library, 951 N. Indian Creek Drive in Clarkston
- County Line - Ellenwood Library, 4331 River Road in Ellenwood
- Dunwoody Library, 5339 Chamblee Dunwoody Road in Dunwoody
- Emory University, 1599 Clifton Road in Atlanta
- DeKalb County elections office, 4380 Memorial Drive in Decatur
- North DeKalb Senior Center, 3393 Malone Drive in Chamblee
- The Gallery at South DeKalb, 2801 Candler Road in Decatur
- Former Sam’s Club building, 2994 Turner Hill Road in Stonecrest
- Salem-Panola Library, 5137 Salem Road in Stonecrest
- Tucker Library, 5234 LaVista Road in Tucker
- Wade Walker YMCA, 5605 Rockbridge Road SW in Stone Mountain
- Wesley Chapel Library, 2861 Wesley Chapel Road in Decatur
About the Author
Tyler Estep hosts the AJC Win Column, Atlanta's new weekly destination for all things sports. He also shepherds the Sports Daily and Braves Report newsletters to your inbox.
