Monday, April 20, is the last day to register to vote and be eligible to participate in the Tuesday, May 19 General Primary.
Ware County residents can register from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Ware County Board of Elections and Registration, 408 Tebeau Street. Proof of residence is required.
Accepted items are a current and valid photo ID, a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document with name and address.
Exemption is for those entitled to vote by absentee ballot under the Uniform and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, such as members of the military, or if providing your Georgia driver’s license/ID number, or the last four digits of your Social Security number for those without a driver's license/ID) on this form and your identifying information is verified with a state database. Those without identification documents listed can obtain a free photo ID for voting purposes only from the elections office. Call (912) 287-4363 for more information.
Early primary voting begins Monday, April 27 and continues through Friday, May 15 at the board of elections. Weekday hours are 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. with the Saturday, May 2 and 9 opportunities from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Voting May 19 will be from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at county locations.
There are no City of Waycross races on the ballot and only two for Ware County that are contested after qualifying last month. Those two are for District 3 on the County Commission and District 5 on the Board of Education.
Three people filed for the commission seat — incumbent Timmy Lucas along with Jonathan Daniell and Raylan Guy. All are Republicans, and with no Democrat qualified, the winner in the primary will get the seat.
The contested school board seat is between incumbent Brandi Waters and former board member Dee Meadows.
There also are a host of state and congressional races on the ballot as well as “straw poll” questions placed by the Republican and Democrat parties.
These questions are non-binding, and political parties use them to gauge public opinion on certain issues, said Ware County Supervisor of Elections Carlos Nelson.
The Republican ballot includes eight statewide and three local questions. Democrat voters only will see two statewide questions.
Votes on these items don’t directly result in laws or government action. The political parties use the results to better understand what their voters are thinking to possibly help guide future party priorities.
In addition to the questions, there will be a “Nonbinding Advisory Referendum” regarding the proposed perimeter highway involving Ware, Pierce and Brantley counties.
The question was placed on the ballot through legislation introduced by Georgia House members James Burchett and John Corbitt, who represent the area.
