What you need to know for Election Day 2020

Poll workers at the Cumming Recreation and Parks building help out with early voting on Friday, Oct. 30. - photo by Kelly Whitmire

Election 2020 — Poll workers at the Cumming Recreation and Parks building help out with early voting on Friday, Oct. 30. - photo by Kelly Whitmire

Early voting has wrapped up, and it’s onto Election Day on Nov. 3 for voters in Forsyth County and across the country.

According to Mandi Smith, director of Forsyth County Voter Registrations and Elections, as of noon on Friday, Oct. 30, more than 82,000 local voters had cast ballots during the three weeks of early voting and another 25,000 mail-in ballots, out of more than 41,000 sent out, had also been returned.

Smith said when she came to the department 15 years ago, the county only had 80,000 registered voters and had “not ever seen these numbers.”

Forsyth County has a total of 172,000 registered voters, meaning about 62% of voters had already voted, as of Friday.

Having to deal with new election equipment, hurricane weather and the COVID-19 pandemic added extra stress to what was already expected to be a busy election, but Smith said a large number of volunteers and assistance from other county departments made the process go more smoothly.

“It has taken a lot of assistance, a lot of individuals to make this happen, and it’s a lot of work and a lot of things that go in the background that have to be done and have to be done right and have to be done well to put on an election,” Smith said.

Where do I vote?

Unlike early voting, where residents could vote at any of the county’s polling places, on Tuesday, Nov. 3, voters will have to go to their assigned voting place, which can be found at the secretary of state's website.

Smith said voters who have not voted at their designated precinct since 2016 or 2018 should double-check their voting precinct at the Georgia secretary of state's website since the county has added new locations for 2020.

“We have 20 Election Day polling places in Forsyth County,” she said. “We added five polling places back at the end of 2019, so that means for a lot of voters who may have not voted since 2018 or since 2016, the polling place may have changed.”

Voters will also need to bring a photo ID to their polling place. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Forsyth County’s Election Day precincts are:

01 Big Creek- First Redeemer Church (2100 Peachtree Parkway);
02 Brandywine- Calvary Chapel (200 James Road);
03 Browns Bridge- Central Park Recreation Center (2300 Keith Bridge Road);
04 Chestatee- Atlanta Cricket Fields (5395 Keith Bridge Road);
05 Coal Mountain- Coal Mountain Park Community Building (3560 Settingdown Road);
06 Crossroads- Hampton Park Library (5345 Settingdown Road);
07 Cumming- Cumming City Hall (100 Main Street);
08 Mashburn- Lanier United Methodist Church (1979 Buford Highway);
10 Midway- Midway Park Community Building (5100 Post Road);
15 Heardsville- Sawnee Mountain Park Community Building (3995 Watson Road);
16 Otwell- First Baptist (1597 Sawnee Drive);
19 Old Atlanta- Olde Atlanta Clubhouse (5745 Olde Atlanta Parkway);
21 South Forsyth- Sharon Springs Park Community Building (1950 Sharon Road);
25 Windermere- Windermere Lodge (4444 Front Nine Drive);
27 Concord- Concord Baptist Church (6905 Concord Road);
29 Polo- Grace Chapel Church of Christ (6755 Majors Road);
34 Fowler- Fowler Park Recreation Center (4110 Carolene Way);
35 Johns Creek- Johns Creek Baptist Church (6910 McGinnis Ferry Road);
36 Nichols- Old Atlanta Park (810 Nichols Road);
37 Sawnee- Parks and Recreation Natural Resources Operations Center (1605 Canton Highway).

What's on the ballot?

It should come as no surprise that the election between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden is the most-contentious race on the ballot and experts have said it will impact down-ballot races.

Along with the presidential race, voters will decide both of Georgia’s Senate seats along with seats for the U.S. House of Representatives, the Georgia General Assembly and Public Service Commission.

For local races, including sheriff, coroner, Forsyth County Board of Commissioners and Forsyth County Board of Education, those seats were either decided earlier this year or the incumbent did not draw a challenger.

The flowing races will appear on Forsyth County ballots:

U.S. Senate