Information You Should Know about voter purges and registration in Georgia

Subject: Information You Should Know. Please Read!

Democratic Leaders,

Voter outreach has been going great though out GA. We have seen tremendous successes with our "Operation Blue" initiatives, "Adopt-A-School" program, faith outreach and voter registration and education rallies. With knowledge of the facts in GA we are better able to bring lasting solutions to the epidemic of voter apathy and combat the trends of unregistered and inactive voters through consistent engagement. Thanks to our elected officials, congressional chairs, county committees, allied organizations and dedicated Democrats, we have increased voter outreach, thus yielding impressive results statewide. Let's keep this momentum going!

Here are some facts:

If a voter has not participated in 2 consecutive GA general elections they are listed as inactive. During this inactive stage the county government is to send a letter informing them of their status. If the inactivity continues, the Secretary of State will send a list of individuals to the county registrar for purging. Once someone is purged, they are no longer registered to vote. They must re-register. The county government can choose to investigate further before agreeing to follow the S.O.S.'s recommendation. The county Democratic committees can appoint at least one and in many cases more that one Democrat to serve on the Board of Elections for that county. By ensuring that we have engaged, effective, and competent people on that board we can stop the adversarial use of the purging system. The county has the final say in who gets purged. Let's hold them accountable to provide persuasive evidence that these individuals are in fact candidates for purging. Our voter registration efforts can potentially become neutralized by their purging tactics! This must be checked!!!

Deadlines To Remember:

Elections and Voter Registration Calendar 2012 Election Event Dates Election Voter Registration Deadline Election Date Presidential Preference Primary/Special Election (to fill vacancies and propose questions) February 6, 2012 March 6, 2012 Special Election Runoff February 6, 2012 April 3, 2012 General Primary/Non-Partisan/ Special Election (to fill vacancies and propose questions) July 2, 2012 July 31, 2012 General Primary Runoff/Non-Partisan Runoff/Special Election Runoff July 2, 2012 August 21, 2012 Special Election (to fill vacancies) August 20, 2012 September 18, 2012 Special Election Runoff August 20, 2012 October 16, 2012 General Election/Special Election (to fill vacancies and propose questions) October 9, 2012* November 6, 2012 General Election Runoff/Special Election Runoff October 9, 2012* December 4, 2012 Key Dates: January 1, 2012 Earliest day to file and publish a notice of intention to be a write-in candidate in the General Election. O.C.G.A. §21-2-133 (a) January 21, 2012 Deadline for a registrar to begin mailing absentee ballots for the March Presidential Preference Primary §21-2-384 (a) February 1, 2012 Last day to fix and publish qualifying fees for offices to be filled during the 2012 Election Cycle. §21-2-131 (a)(1)(A) February 6, 2012 Last day for a person to register and be eligible to vote in the Presidential Preference Primary/March Special Election and March Special Election Runoff. O.C.G.A. §21-2-224 (a) February 13, 2012 Advanced (Absentee In-Person) Voting begins for the Presidential Preference Primary/March Special Election. O.C.G.A. §21-2-385 (d)(1) February 25, 2012 Mandatory Saturday Voting for the Presidential Preference Primary/March Special Election §21-2-385 (d)(1) May 23, 2012 9:00 A.M. Earliest day for a Political Party Candidate to file a Declaration of Candidacy to have his or her name placed on the General Primary/Non-Partisan Ballot. O.C.G.A. §21-2-153 (c)(1) Earliest day for a Non-Partisan Candidate to file a Notice of Candidacy to have his or her name placed on the General Primary/Non-Partisan Ballot. O.C.G.A. §21-2-132, 21—2-172, 21-2-187 May 25, 2012 12:00 Noon Last day for a Political Party Candidate to file a Declaration of Candidacy to have his/her name placed on the General Primary/Non-Partisan Ballot. O.C.G.A. §21-2-153 (c)(1) Last day for a Non-Partisan Candidate to file a Notice of Candidacy to have his/her name placed on the General Primary/Non-Partisan Ballot. O.C.G.A. §21-2-132, 21—2-172, 21-2-187 June 1, 2012 Last day to file affidavit stating the notice of intention to be a Non-Partisan Write-In Candidate has been published in accordance with O.C.G.A. §21-2-133 (b) June 16, 2012 Deadline for a registrar to begin mailing absentee ballots for the General Primary/Non-Partisan §21-2-384 (a) July 2, 2012 Last day for a person to register and be eligible to vote in the General Primary/Non-Partisan/July Special Election and Runoff Election. O.C.G.A. §21-2-224 (a) July 9, 2012 Advanced (Absentee In-Person) Voting begins for the General Primary/Non-Partisan/Special Election. O.C.G.A. §21-2-385 (d)(1) July 21, 2012 Mandatory Saturday Voting for the General Primary/Non-Partisan/July Special Election §21-2-385 (d)(1) July 30, 2012 9:00 A.M. Earliest day for an Independent or a Political Body Candidate to file a Notice of Candidacy to have his/her name placed on the General Election Ballot. O.C.G.A. § 21-2-132; 21-2-187 August 3, 2012 12:00 Noon Last day for an Independent or a Political Body Candidate to file a Notice of Candidacy to have his/her name placed on the General Election Ballot. O.C.G.A. § 21-2-132;21-2-187 August 6, 2012 12:00 Noon Last day for an Independent or a Political Body Candidate to file their Nomination Petition to have his/her name placed on the General Election Ballot. O.C.G.A. § 21-2-132 August 20, 2012 Last day for a person to register and be eligible to vote in the September Special Election /September Special Election Runoff. O.C.G.A. §21-2-224 (a) August 27, 2012 Advanced (Absentee In-Person) Voting begins for the September Special Election. O.C.G.A. §21-2-385 (d)(1) September 4, 2012 Last day to file affidavit stating the notice of intention to be a write-in candidate has been published in accordance with O.C.G.A. §21-2-133 (b) September 21, 2012 Deadline for a registrar to begin mailing absentee ballots for the General Election §21-2-384 (a) October 8, 2012 Last day a person may register and be eligible to vote in the General Election/November Special Election /Runoff Election. O.C.G.A. §21-2-224(a) October 15, 2012 Advanced (In-Person) Voting begins for the General Election/November Special Election. O.C.G.A. §21-2-385 (d)(1) October 27, 2012 Mandatory Saturday Voting for the General Election/November Special Election §21-2-385 (d)(1) *The voter registration deadline for the November 6, 2012 General Election/Special Election and the December 4, 2012 General Election Runoff/Special Election Runoff is Tuesday, October 9, 2012 due to Columbus Day falling on Monday, October 8, 2012. O.C.G.A. 21-2-224 (a) "if any person whose name is not on the list of registered electors maintained by the Secretary of State under this article desires to vote at any general primary, general election, or presidential preference primary, such person shall make application as provided in this article by the close of business on the fifth Monday or, if such Monday is a legal holiday, by the close of business on the following business day prior to the date of such general primary, general election, or presidential preference primary."

Also, for any additional voter registration questions you can go to www.sos.ga.gov/elections 

It will take all of us working together to make a difference in GA.

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