East Cobb voters will get Sunday voting and a new drop box location for the Nov. 3 general election.
The Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration (BOER) votes Monday, Sept. 14, to finalize an amended advance voting schedule that the county's advance voting website already reflects. The changes expand access in District 3, where board member Debbie Fisher raised concerns at the Aug. 10 meeting about a lack of drop boxes in the East Cobb area.
The East Cobb Government Service Center, at 4400 Lower Roswell Road, is one of five countywide locations offering Sunday voting. Hours are noon to 5 p.m. on Oct. 18 and Oct. 25. The site also has a drop box.
That location drew the highest satellite turnout in the county during the June 16 primary runoff, with 4,714 advance votes cast there, according to BOER meeting records.
Gritters Library joins the lineup as a new drop box
The amended schedule adds Gritters Library, at 880 Shaw Park Road, as a new drop box location. Elections Director Leigh Phillips had originally proposed the site at the board's Aug. 10 meeting as an in-person advance voting location, citing historical District 3 turnout data to argue it would distribute voter access more effectively across the county. The final schedule being adopted Sept. 14 designates it as a drop-box site only.
Fisher abstained from the Aug. 10 vote. The rest of the board approved the initial schedule 4-0.
What's on the Nov. 3 ballot
The general election ballot includes a Cobb County Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) referendum and a City of Mableton referendum on redevelopment powers. Cobb County had 519,486 active registered voters as of Aug. 10.
Advance voting dates and deadlines
Advance in-person voting runs Oct. 13 through Oct. 30. Weekday hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday voting is Saturday, Oct. 17 and Oct. 24, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. No advance voting is available Oct. 31 through Nov. 2.
Key deadlines:
- Voter registration: Oct. 5
- Absentee ballot request: Oct. 23
- Absentee ballots mailed: Starting Oct. 5
Other Sept. 14 agenda items
The board will also hold public hearings on temporary polling location changes for the Dobbins 02 precinct in Smyrna and the Elizabeth 03 precinct near Sandy Plains Road. The agenda also lists a discussion on using a third-party service to mail absentee ballots as an alternative to the U.S. Postal Service.
The BOER meets at 3 p.m. Monday, Sept. 14, in the Board of Commissioners Room at 100 Cherokee Street in Marietta. The advance voting schedule must be published by Sept. 28. Voters can call (770) 528-2581 or visit CobbElections.gov for more information.
