CHATHAM COUNTY, Ga. (WTGS) — The absentee ballot drop boxes in Chatham County officially opened Monday.
The Chatham County Board of Registrars is reporting a record number of absentee ballot requests.
As of Monday morning, more than 43,000 absentee ballots have been requested, and 5,600 of those have already been cast.
Chatham County residents Lisa and John Schaefer cast their absentee ballots in a dropbox Monday.
“I feel excited! I’m excited! I never miss an election,” said the Schaeffers.
Colin McRae with the Board of Registrars is ensuring voters that the drop box process is secure.
“Once it comes back to the office, the log is handed into the supervisor, who takes note of how many ballots were collected and they are immediately processed,” said McRae.
There is a multiple-step process the board takes to verify each ballot.
“Signature verification process is the first step in ensuring the security of these absentee ballots,” said McRae.
Each ballot goes through multiple inspections before they’re scanned.
“It’s a very hands-on process, where a number of different eyes and hands are working with each ballot. They’re not just put in a bin and immediately counted,” said McRae.
The biggest problems the board sees with absentee ballots is not having a signature or not submitting the ballot on time. The deadline is 7 p.m. on election night.
You can track your ballot’s status in real-time either on your My Voter Page or on the website BallotTrax.
“(BallotTrax) will actually push out a text message to you letting you know each of those stages have occurred,” said McRae.
It’s all an effort to make voting as simple and possible.
“It was great to just walk here and pop it in the box,” said Schaeffer.
Click here to access your My Voter Page.